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THAT  SWEET  STORY  OF  OLD 


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That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 


A  Life  of  Christ 
for  the  Young 


By 
MARGARET  E.  SANGSTER 


New  York       Chicago       Toronto 

Fleming  H.   Revell  Company 
London    and    Edinburgh 


Copyright,    1904,    by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York :  1 58  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago  :  63  Washington  Street 
Toronto  :  27  Richmond  Street,  W 
London :  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh :    30  St.    Mary  Street 


To 

Margaret  Elizabeth 

my 

grandchild  and 

namesakey 

I  dedicate  this  book 


Foreword 

SEYEEAL  years  ago,  a  friend  suggested 
that  I  should  write  for  children  and 
young  people,  a  book  that  might  lead 
them  to  study  for  themselves,  lovingly  and 
earnestly,  the  story  of  our  Saviour's  life  among 
men,  as  it  is  given  us  by  the  four  evangelists. 
At  first  I  hesitated  to  attempt  the  task,  but  as 
the  days  and  weeks  slipped  by  the  desire  to 
undertake  it,  grew  more  and  more  insistent, 
until  the  thought  floated  before  me,  like  a 
beautiful  vision  that  might  in  time  become  a 
dream  fulfilled.  I  began  as  I  cherished  the 
hope  of  helping  others,  to  read  and  reread  the 
sweet  story  of  old,  until  with  the  disciples  I 
walked  on  holy  ground. 

Familiar  as  are  the  incidents  of  our  Lord's 
ministry,  part  indeed  of  the  warp  and  woof  of 
memory,  they  have  revealed  Him  to  me  with 
a  vividness  hitherto  unfelt.  To  study  this 
strangely  beautiful,  this  unflawed  life,  has 
been  to  enter  into  a  new  abiding  with  the 
Master,  to  have  a  new  sense  of  His  personality 
as  a  force  in  the  world. 

In  the  compass  of  this  little  volume  it  has 
not  been  possible  to  introduce  every  event  in 
7 


8  Foreword 

the  story  of  Jesus,  nor  to  repeat  all  His  words. 
For  these  I  would  have  my  young  friends  go 
to  the  New  Testament.  My  thought  is  that 
in  this  book  they  may  find  a  companion  to 
that,  a  book  that  may  sometimes  occupy  them 
in  the  silent  time  as  well  as  allure  them  at 
other  times,  and  always  be  as  a  light  flashed 
on  the  road  that  leads  home.  This  book  is 
purposely  written  with  great  simplicity  so  that 
mothers  and  children  may  read  it  together. 
Yet  it  is  not  limited  to  little  children.  Its 
message  is  to  the  older  young  people  still  in 
training  for  life  and  its  activities. 

Never  was  any  life  on  earth  so  rich  and 
full,  as  the  life  of  our  Master.  Never  was  any 
one  so  busy  and  so  beset  and  surrounded  by 
those  who  sought  help.  Never  was  a  life  so 
constant  in  its  outpouring  of  kindness  as  was 
that  of  Jesus,  who  went  about  doing  good. 
Doing  good  in  the  superlative,  and  without 
stint,  overflowing  in  blessings.  Truly  this  was 
the  Son  of  God. 

As  I  have  studied  anew  the  amazing  life  of 
Jesus  on  earth,  I  have  received  impressions  of 
its  many-sidedness.  He  was  gentle,  submissive 
and  meek.  He  was  also  valiant,  commanding, 
and  kingly.  No  manlier  character  than  that 
of  the  Nazarene  is  found  in  all  history,  and 
none  so  compassionate  to  the  weak,  forgiving 
to  the  penitent. 


Foreword  9 

As  the  little  Son  of  Mary,  as  the  Boy  in  the 
Temple,  as  the  Guest  at  the  Wedding  Feast, 
as  the  Healer  of  the  Sick,  as  the  Friend  of 
Lazarus  and  Martha  and  Mary,  as  the  match- 
less Teacher,  as  the  Lover  of  Little  Children, 
as  the  Lamb  that  was  Slain,  as  the  Kisen  Re- 
deemer, Jesus  Christ  appeals  to  every  one. 
Most  of  all  He  appeals  to  the  young,  saying, 
"  Come  unto  Me  I  "  As  of  old  He  bade  men 
"  Follow  Him  "  and  they  followed,  so  may  the 
youth  of  this  and  other  lands,  hear  His  voice 
and  forsake  other  leaders,  and  follow  Him. 

In  this  century  as  in  each  preceding  century, 
the  Man  Christ  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  claims 
every  heart  and  life. 

May  we  each  hear  His  call  and  obey.  Still 
He  is  saying  "  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come 
unto  Me,  and  forbid  them  not  for  of  such  is 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,"  and  still  He  is 
putting  the  emphasis  of  His  approval,  not  on 
the  proud  and  the  lofty,  but  on  the  meek  and 
the  lowly,  on  those  who  keep  the  heart  of  the 
child  to  life's  latest  earthly  day. 

To  the  children  at  home,  and  in  school,  to 
the  young  people  in  the  League  and  Endeavor 
circles,  and  to  all  who  love  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  I  commit  this  book,  directing  them  to 
"That  Sweet  Story  of  Old." 

Margaret  E.  Sangster. 


Contents 


I. 

The  Star  in  the  East 

II. 

The  Song  in  the  Air  . 

III. 

Of  the  Flight  into  Egypt  . 

IV. 

The  Child  and  the  Rabbis  . 

V. 

Two  Young  Men 

VI. 

The  Temptation 

VII. 

Beside  the  Sea     . 

VIII. 

Jesus  as  a  Wedding  Guest    . 

IX. 

The  Sermon  on  the  Mount 

X. 

A  Day  in  Jesus'  Life     . 

XI. 

The  Lad  with  the  Loaves    . 

XII. 

The  Raising  of  the  Ruler's  Daughter 

XIII. 

When  Jesus  Walked  on  the  Sea 

,         , 

XIV. 

Jesus  and  the  Sabbath  Day 

.         . 

XV. 

Jesus  Transfigured 

.         , 

XVI. 

Suffer  the  Little  Children  to  Come 

Unto  Me 

XVII. 

Jesus  of  Nazareth  Passeth  By 

XVIII. 

By  the  Well  of  Samaria 

XIX. 

Jesus  at  the  Feast 

XX. 

Jesus  and  Prayer 

13 

22 

31 

40 

49 

57 

65 

72 

79 
88 

97 
103 
109 
114 
123 

133 
140 

H7 
»53 
161 


II 


12 


Contents 


XXI. 

Jesus  and  Pardon  for  Sin  . 

167 

XXII. 

Lord,  if  Thou  Hadst  Been  Here 

175 

XXIII. 

The  Sisters  of  Bethany     . 

182 

XXIV. 

Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David   . 

188 

XXV. 

Some  Parables  of  Jesus 

198 

XXVI. 

The  Last  Supper 

207 

XXVII. 

Gethsemane      .... 

216 

XXVIII. 

In  the  House  of  the  High  Priest 

220 

XXIX. 

Before  Pilate's  Judgment  Seat  . 

226 

XXX. 

Jesus  on  the  Cross     . 

.     232 

XXXI. 

The  Lord  is  Risen 

.     238 

XXXII. 

A  Wayside  Walk 

245 

XXXIII. 

Lovest  Thou  Me  ?     . 

.     252 

XXXIV. 

Our  Lord's  Last  Words    . 

.     258 

LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING  PAGE 

Beholding  the  Star Title 

The  Angel  Said,  "  Fear  Not." 24 

The  Child  in  the  Temple 44 

Behold  the  Lamb  of  God 67 

Jesus  at  Cana  of  Galilee 73 

He  Touched  Her  Hand  and  the  Fever  Left  Her.     93 

Damsel,  I  Say  unto  Thee,  Arise 106 

They  Saw  No  Man,  but  Jesus  Only 130 

Suffer  the  Little  Ones 133 

By  the  Well  of  Samaria 149 

Him  that  Cometh  unto  Me  I  Will  in  No  Wise 

Cast  Out 167 

Jesus  in  the  Home  at  Bethany 182 

Jesus's  Triumphal  Entry  into  Jerusalem 188 

Jesus  in  the  Garden  of  Gethsemane 217 

Christ  Before  Pilate's  Judgment  Seat 228 

Jesus  Saith  unto  Her,  Mary 243 


That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 


THE  STAR  IN  THE  EAST 

Three  kings,  whom  tradition  has  called 
Caspar,  Melohior  and  Balthazar,  in  the  wonder- 
ful days  of  the  long  ago,  set  out  on  a  weary 
journey  to  a  distant  land.  There  was  a  great 
deal  of  mystery  about  why  they  went,  and 
how  long  they  might  stay,  and  when  they 
might  return.  Friends  and  acquaintances 
thought  it  odd  and  foolish  that  people  should 
leave  homes  where  they  were  well  off  and 
comfortable,  and  set  out  on  an  expedition,  no- 
body knew  where,  to  encounter  unknown  dan- 
gers, very  likely  to  be  met  by  bands  of  robbers, 
or  to  fall  sick  and  perish  by  the  way.  Gray- 
haired  men  shook  their  heads.  No  good  could 
come,  they  said,  of  so  strange  and  rash  a  quest. 
The  old  mothers,  moving  softly  to  and  fro 
about  the  tents,  in  the  shadow,  shook  their 
heads  too,  and  the  little  children  cried.  All 
that  the  courtiers  and  the  gray-beards,  and  the 
mothers,  and  the  young  wives,  and  the  chil- 
»3 


14  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

dren,  and  the  villagers  said,  moved  the  three 
kings,  who  also  were  very  wise  men,  with 
learning  at  their  fingers'  ends,  not  a  single  bit. 
They  heard  the  babel  of  voices,  they  felt  the 
tug  of  friendly  hands,  they  saw  the  tears  in 
loving  eyes.  But  they  went  straight  on,  mak- 
ing ready  to  go,  if  need  were,  to  the  other  side 
of  the  world.     They  could  not  stay. 

They  had  seen,  flaming  bright  and  golden, 
in  the  evening  sky  a  star  with  a  glory  like  that 
of  the  sun.  Where  the  star  shone,  the  whole 
field  of  the  sky  was  radiant.  It  was  as  if  a 
sheaf  of  common  stars  had  merged  their  beams 
and  made  one  splendid  orb,  magnificent  and 
sublime,  a  star  that  had  lit  its  torch  at  the  altar 
fires  of  heaven.  These  men  had  no  books  with 
printed  pages  like  our  own,  but  they  knew  how 
to  read  the  leaves  of  God's  great  book  of  na- 
ture, and  for  them,  plainly  discerned  there  were 
signs  in  mist  and  rain,  in  dew  and  cloud,  in 
moon,  and  sun,  and  stars.  They  even  heard 
mystic  voices  speaking  to  them  in  the  night 
season,  and  often,  as  they  walked  in  the  pas- 
ture lands  and  counted  the  flocks,  or  lingered 
in  the  hollows  among  the  hills  when  the  sun 
went  down,  they  knew  that  the  Maker  of 
earth  and  heaven  called  them  by  name.  So 
they  could  not  stay. 

They  had  seen  the  wonderful  star !  But  not 
only  this !     As  they  gazed,  each  from  his  sepa- 


The  Star  in  the  East  15 

rate  place  of  watching,  each  had  seen  the  star, 
like  a  pointing  finger  move  in  its  course,  and 
each  had  heard  as  plainly  as  if  words  had  been 
spoken  in  their  ears,  the  command  of  God,  to 
follow  the  star. 

All  over  the  world,  at  the  time  this  splendid 
star  suddenly  swept  into  view  in  the  sky,  there 
were  those  who  expected  some  great  thing  to 
happen.  Rome,  from  her  seven  hills,  had 
made  herself  the  world's  haughty  mistress. 
Her  imperial  eagles  had  been  carried  every- 
where by  her  intrepid  soldiers,  and  her  arms 
had  been  universally  victorious.  The  world 
was  Rome's  world,  ruled  by  Roman  soldiers 
and  statesmen,  and  from  princes  to  paupers, 
people  of  all  lands  and  tongues,  paid  tribute  to 
Rome. 

Other  great  empires  had  held  sway,  and 
then  lost  their  power.  The  kingdoms  of 
Assyria  and  Babylonia  were  now  mere  memo- 
ries. Greece,  that  had  been  immensely  strong, 
that  under  Alexander  the  Great,  had  ruled  the 
nations,  was  still  beautiful,  and  held  a  certain 
lustre  of  elegance  and  culture,  had  its  schools 
and  sages  and  students,  but  Greece  was  no 
longer  dominant.  The  sceptre  had  passed 
««Ka,Y  fjTom  Judah,  as  the  prophets  had  foretold 
Hiat  it  would,  because  the  house  of  Israel  and 
the  house  of  Judah,  had  turned  away  from  the 
God  of  their  fathers.    Corruption  and  idolatry 


l6  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

had  stolen  in  where  once  had  been  pure  wor- 
ship and  reverent  obedience,  and  a  Roman 
governor  now  ruled  and  lived  in  pomp  and 
grandeur,  where  the  Hebrew  kings  had  once 
reigned  on  the  throne  of  David. 

Probably  the  stern  rule  of  the  Romans  bore 
less  heavily  on  the  nomadic  kings  and  chief- 
tains of  the  Eastern  lands,  than  on  any  other 
people  then  living.  They  had  flocks  and 
herds.  They  were  not  occupied  with  trade, 
nor  were  their  sons  anxious  for  a  place  in  the 
fighting  legions.  They  were  thoughtful, 
simple,  brooding  men,  far  away  from  the  rush 
and  hurry  of  the  great  world. 

News  came  to  them  seldom  and  slowly. 
The  Romans  were  building  broad  roads,  and 
spanning  wide  rivers  with  great  bridges,  but 
there  were  no  roads  over  the  desert,  and  the 
Roman  posts  brought  no  tidings  to  the  black 
tents,  where  the  sheik  encamped  with  his  fam- 
ily about  him,  living  in  the  independence  of 
the  patriarchs,  as  Abraham,  Isaac,  Jacob,  and 
Job  had  done  in  an  elder  time. 

Somehow,  by  what  means  we  cannot  tell, 
the  thought  had  penetrated  through  the  des- 
ert silence  and  remoteness  that  a  mighty  per- 
sonage was  about  to  be  born.  How  much  they 
knew  of  what  Moses  and  Isaiah  and  Ezekiel 
and  Malachi  had  prophesied,  we  cannot  tell. 
But  a  Prince  was  coming  1 


The  Star  in  the  East  17 

They  saw  His  Star  in  the  East. 
Great  flocks  were  spread  over  great  spaces. 
The  three  kings  did  not  live  next  door  to  one 
another,  nor  meet  at  a  crossroads  post-office  in 
the  twilight,  nor  hold  town  meetings  at  inter- 
vals to  talk  things  over.  There  were  no  towns 
then,  nor  town-meetings,  no  crowded  streets 
in  the  wilderness.  Yet  they  knew  one  an- 
other by  name  and  sight,  and  were  wont  to 
salute  with  grave  courtesy  when  they  some- 
times met. 

Each,  obedient  to  the  promptings  of  the 
heavenly  vision,  made  the  leisurely  haste  of 
the  desert  to  follow  the  star.  Provisions  were 
packed  for  a  long  journey.  The  camels  were 
found  and  made  ready.  Eetainers,  servants, 
perhaps  a  son  or  two,  joyfully  prepared  to  set 
forth,  when  the  master  gave  the  word.  And 
thus,  starting  from  three  separate  points  of 
the  compass,  the  three  caravans  came  to- 
gether, and  the  three  wise  men  following  the 
star  in  the  East,  went  onward  to  find  the 
Prince  of  whose  coming  the  star  was  a  token. 
Many  days  they  journeyed  through  the  great 
barren  deserts,  resting  sometimes  in  the  noon- 
tide heat  under  the  shadow  of  a  friendly  rock, 
or  lingering  now  and  then  in  an  oasis  of  palms 
springing  green  beside  a  water-course.  Often 
they  broke  camp  in  the  early  dawn,  travelling 
in  the  cool  of  the  day.    The  camels  swung  like 


i8  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

mighty  ships,  rocking  from  side  to  side,  some 
sumptuously  caparisoned  for  the  comfort  and 
state  of  their  riders,  and  some  laden  with 
freight,  food,  rugs,  the  furniture  of  the  tents, 
and  still  others  bearing  the  rich  gifts  that  were 
to  be  laid  at  the  feet  of  the  Prince  when  they 
should  reach  His  palace  gates. 

After  awhile,  the  three  wise  men,  kings 
and  chieftains,  accustomed  to  exercising 
authority,  rode  often  near  together,  the  oldest 
in  the  van,  the  others  following  him,  and  often, 
when  they  ate  or  rested,  they  talked  earnestly 
of  the  object  of  their  journey.  The  Star,  still 
serenely  bright,  and  flaming  like  a  golden 
torch,  shed  its  kindly  beams  upon  them.  And 
they  were  content  to  fare  onward,  so  long  as 
they  saw  the  Star. 

"Where  would  it  lead  them  ?  They  ques- 
tioned reverently,  these  desert  men,  guileless 
as  little  children,  in  the  completeness  of  their 
trust.  Perhaps  through  crowds  of  alien 
peoples  ;  perhaps  through  vast  cities ;  perhaps 
into  an  enemy's  country.  No  matter.  They 
had  no  fear,  they  rode  on,  with  high  hearts, 
and  faces  looking  straightforward ;  men  with 
the  courage  of  the  lion,  and  the  innocence  of 
the  dove.  The  Star  was  leading  them.  It 
would  lead  them  to  the  palace  of  the  Prince, 
to  the  place  glorious  with  His  presence. 

"  Now  when  Jesus  was  born  in  Bethlehem 


The  Star  in  the  East  19 

of  Judea  in  the  days  of  Herod  the  king,  be- 
hold, there  came  wise  men  from  the  East  to 
Jerusalem, 

"  Saying,  where  is  He  that  is  born  King  of 
the  Jews  ?  for  we  have  seen  His  star  in  the 
East,  and  are  come  to  worship  Him. 

"When  Herod  the  king  had  heard  these 
things,  he  was  troubled,  and  all  Jerusalem 
with  him. 

"  And  when  he  had  gathered  all  the  chief 
priests  and  scribes  of  the  people  together,  he 
demanded  of  them  where  Christ  should  be 
born. 

"  And  they  said  unto  him.  In  Bethlehem  of 
Judea :  for  thus  it  is  written  by  the  prophet, 

"  And  thou  Bethlehem,  in  the  land  of  Judah, 
art  not  the  least  among  the  princes  of  Judah  : 
for  out  of  thee  shall  come  a  Governor,  that 
shall  rule  my  people  Israel. 

"  Then  Herod,  when  he  had  privily  called  the 
wise  men,  inquired  of  them  diligently  what 
time  the  star  appeared. 

"  And  he  sent  them  to  Bethlehem,  and  said. 
Go  and  search  diligently  for  the  young  child ; 
and  when  ye  have  found  Him,  bring  me  word 
again,  that  I  may  come  and  worship  Him  also. 

"  When  they  had  heard  the  king,  they  de- 
parted; and  lo,  the  star,  which  they  saw  in 
the  East,  went  before  them,  till  it  came  and 
stood  over  where  the  young  child  was. 


20  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  When  they  saw  the  star,  they  rejoiced  with 
exceeding  great  joy. 

"  And  when  they  were  come  into  the  house, 
they  saw  the  young  child  with  Mary  His  mother, 
and  fell  down,  and  worshipped  Him ;  and  when 
they  had  opened  their  treasures,  they  pre- 
sented unto  Him  gifts ;  gold,  and  frankincense, 
and  myrrh. 

"And  being  warned  of  God  in  a  dream  that 
they  should  not  return  to  Herod,  they  de- 
parted into  their  own  country  another  way." 

It  was  no  palace  in  which  the  wise  men 
found  the  One  they  sought,  but  a  place  so 
lowly  that  they  might  well  have  hesitated  be- 
fore they  crossed  its  door-sill.  They  did  not 
hesitate,  for  the  star  stood  still  at  last,  its 
heavenly  radiance  flooding  the  spot  where  the 
Child  of  Heaven  lay  in  the  arms  of  His  mother. 

They  knelt  and  prostrated  themselves  to  the 
earth  in  homage,  and  owned  the  little  Babe  as 
their  sovereign.  Never  were  kings  more  kingly 
than  this  royal  three.  And  then,  from  their 
store  of  treasures,  carried  so  far,  guarded  so 
carefully,  they  brought  gold,  to  symbolize  the 
offering  of  whatever  toil  can  buy,  and  frank- 
incense, to  show  the  perfume  of  prayer  and 
praise,  and  myrrh,  the  emblem  of  sorrow. 
Gold  and  frankincense  and  myrrh,  all  costly, 
all  laid  at  the  little  feet  that  had  not  yet 
trodden  one  step  of  the  earthly  path. 


The  Star  in  the  East  21 

So  that  the  wicked  Herod  should  not  entrap 
them  as  he  craftily  designed,  they  returned  to 
their  own  country  another  way.  Not  Star-led 
now,  yet  safe  from  harm,  with  God  watching 
over  and  guiding  them  home. 

"There  came  three  kings,  ere  break  of  day, 

All  on  Epiphanie; 
Their  gifts  they  bare  both  rich  and  rare, 

All,  all.  Lord  Christ  for  Thee: 
Gold,  frankincense,  and  myrrh  are  there, 
Where  is  the  King  ?    O  where  ?    O  where  ? 
O  where  is  the  King  ?    O  where  ? 

"The  star  shone  brightly  overhead, 

The  air  was  calm  and  still, 
O'er  Bethlehem  fields  its  rays  were  shed, 

The  dew  lay  on  the  hill: 
We  see  no  throne,  no  palace  fair, 
Where  is  the  King  ?    O  where  ?    O  where  ? 
O  where  is  the  King  ?    O  where  ? 

"An  old  man  knelt  at  a  manger  low, 

A  Babe  lay  in  the  stall; 
The  starlight  played  on  the  Infant  brow, 

Deep  silence  lay  o'er  all; 
A  maiden  bent  o'er  the  Babe  in  prayer: — 
There  is  the  King  ?    O  there  !    O  there ! 
O  there  is  the  King !    O  there  ! " 


II 

THE  SONG  IN  THE  AIR 

"  And  there  were  in  that  same  country 
shepherds  abiding  in  the  field,  keeping  watch 
over  their  flocks  by  night.  And  the  glory  of 
the  Lord  shone  round  about  them,  and  they 
were  sore  afraid.  And  the  angel  said  unto 
them,  Fear  not,  for  behold,  I  bring  you  good 
tidings  of  great  joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  peo- 
ple. For  unto  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the 
city  of  David,  a  Saviour  which  is  Christ  the 
Lord.  And  this  shall  be  a  sign  unto  you.  Ye 
shall  find  the  babe  wrapped  in  swaddling 
clothes  and  lying  in  a  manger. 

"  And  suddenly,  there  was  with  the  angel  a 
multitude  of  the  heavenly  host  praising  God 
and  saying.  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  on 
earth  peace,  good  will  towards  men." 

Do  you  love  a  mountain-land,  a  land  where 
when  you  waken  in  the  morning  the  hills  are 
violet  and  rose  colour  in  the  rising  sun,  where 
at  evening  they  fall  asleep  before  your  eyes, 
all  wrapped  in  crimson  and  gold  ?  "Well  said 
the  poet-king  of  old,  "  I  will  lift  up  mine  eyes 
unto    the    hills    whence    cometh    my    help." 


The  Song  in  the  Air  23 

Judea  was  a  mountain  land.  Crags  steep 
enough  for  the  goats  to  climb,  broad  plateaus 
where  the  vines  flourished,  slopes  covered  with 
cedars,  valleys,  where  the  grass  was  like 
velvet,  green  pastures  and  still  waters  were  in 
that  lovely  land  to  which  our  Saviour  came, 
the  little  Child  of  Heaven. 

One  midnight  when  everybody  was  fast 
asleep  except  mothers  awake  because  they  had 
to  watch  by  sick  beds,  and  sentries  pacing  up 
and  down  before  city  walls,  and  shepherds, 
listening  for  the  footfall  of  the  prowling  wolf, 
creeping,  padding  along  that  he  might  pounce 
upon  a  stray  lamb  of  the  flock,  there  was  a 
sudden  surprise  in  the  hills  where  grazed  and 
slept  the  Temple  sheep.  The  finest  flock  in 
Palestine  was  the  flock  reserved  for  the  use  of 
the  Temple,  and  the  rough,  shaggy  looking 
shepherds  who  guarded  it  were  the  finest  men 
of  their  class.  Theirs  was  no  easy  life,  out  in 
all  weather,  daring  all  wind  and  storm,  and 
ever  on  the  alert  against  thief  and  wild 
beast. 

Perhaps  they  were  drowsy,  perhaps  one 
or  another  had  told  a  story  to  beguile  the 
tedium  of  the  chill  night.  One  may  have 
been  wondering  about  his  little  maid  at  home 
who  had  kissed  him  when  he  left  for  his  long 
vigil,  and  would  gleefully  run  to  meet  him 
when  he  came  back.     Fathers  never  forget 


24  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

their  little  maids  when  they  are  away  at  work. 
Fathers'  hearts  are  always  true.  Another 
shepherd  may  have  been  hoping  that  his  big 
boy  at  home  was  looking  out  for  his  mother 
and  the  little  ones  when  father  was  off  on  the 
hiUs. 

These  simple  shepherd  folk  were  very  poor. 
Their  homes  had  few  comforts,  and  none  of 
the  luxuries  that  we  commonly  have  in  this 
day,  but  they  had  love  just  as  we  have,  and 
they  did  their  duty  day  by  day  as  we  ought 
to  do.  You  may  think  how  you  would  feel  if 
some  morning  or  night  a  great  white  angel, 
all  blazing  with  light,  should  suddenly  appear 
in  your  house,  or  stop  you  on  the  way  to 
school,  or  walk  beside  you  on  the  road.  The 
shepherds  were  just  as  amazed  as  you  would 
be,  and  I  am  sure  they  looked  very  much 
frightened  and  huddled  close  together  just  as 
their  sheep  did  when  some  peril  came  near. 
But  the  angel's  words  were  kind,  and  his 
countenance  was  friendly.  "  Fear  not ! "  The 
gentle  voice  was  sweet  as  the  sound  of  softest 
music,  the  smile  was  as  tender  as  a  father's, 
and  the  shepherds  forgot  their  terror. 

"  Fear  not,  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great 
joy,  which  shall  be  to  all  people." 

In  an  instant,  the  angel  was  not  alone. 
Forth  through  a  rift  in  the  sky  came  a  great 
host  of  bright  beings,  cherubim  and  seraphim, 


THE  ANGEL  SAID,  "FEAR  NOT" 


The  Song  in  the  Air  25 

angels  in  shining  raiment,  angels  with  golden 
harps,  singing,  in  notes  such  as  mortals  had 
never  heard : 

"  Glory  to  God  in  the  Highest ! 
On  earth  peace, 
Good  will  towards  men  ! ' ' 

Fancy  the  thrilling  sound  of  that  melody. 
It  seems  strange  that  Jerusalem  not  far  away, 
could  sleep  through  that  wonderful  Hallelujah 
chorus,  but  it  was  not  meant  for  the  rich  and 
proud  and  great :  it  was  God's  message  to  the 
poor  and  simple-hearted,  through  them,  His 
message  to  the  whole  world. 

Presently  the  music  ceased.  The  angels 
melted  away  from  sight,  going  back  to  heaven. 
Those  shepherds  would  never  be  afraid  to  go 
there  themselves,  or  afraid  of  death,  after 
they  had  heard  the  angels  sing,  and  seen  the 
host  of  heavenly  visitors,  slip  so  quietly  home 
to  their  own  place,  before  their  eyes.  And 
if  ever  after  that,  they  said  a  last  good-bye  to 
a  little  child,  or  a  friend,  they  could  say  it  with 
a  smile,  for  they  knew,  that  a  little  way  off, 
only  a  bit  beyond  their  sight,  the  dear  one 
was  with  the  angels. 

Day  was  breaking,  and  they  girded  up  their 
loins,  and  took  their  shepherd's  staves  in  their 
hands,  and,  as  the  sun  rose  high  over  the  hills, 
they  made  haste  to  reach  Bethlehem,  and  find 


26  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

the  child,  of  whose  birth  they  had  heard  the 
angels  sing. 

They  too,  with  the  wise  men,  earth's  great- 
est and  earth's  lowliest  children,  met  around 
the  feet  of  the  Infant  Jesus. 

The  hill  roads  were  crowded  that  day,  and 
when  they  reached  Bethlehem,  the  shepherds 
may  have  been  puzzled  to  know  just  where  to 
go,  and  how  to  reach  the  One  they  sought. 
Their  coming  was  not  noticed  by  Herod.  They 
had  no  retinue,  nor  cavalcade,  they  brought  no 
costly  gifts.  The  whole  country  was  filled  at 
the  time  with  a  moving  populace,  for  a  decree 
had  gone  forth  from  the  Emperor  Augustus  at 
Rome,  that  all  the  world  should  be  taxed,  and 
scattered  families  returned  to  their  native 
towns  and  hamlets,  that  their  genealogy  might 
be  traced,  an  accurate  account  of  the  royal 
revenues  made,  and  an  accurate  list  made 
by  the  census  takers,  of  all  who  must  pay 
tribute. 

Among  the  thousands  who  in  obedience  to 
the  Emperor's  edict  had  repaired  to  their 
native  town,  how  were  the  shepherds  to  dis- 
cover the  parents  of  the  Child  they  were  seek- 
ing ?  How  know  this  Child  from  any  other 
new-born  babe  ?  I  have  only  one  explanation. 
As  the  wise  men  were  led  by  the  Star,  I  think 
the  shepherds  were  guided  by  an  angel.  They 
may  have  seen  the    Star,    but    they  would 


The  Song  in  the  Air  27 

not  notice  it,  as  they  might  had  they  not  had 
that  glimpse  of  an  opened  heaven. 

I  can  imagine  the  shepherds  going  home, 
after  that  visit  to  the  stable,  where  the  world's 
Redeemer  was  born,  and  being  very  silent  and 
thoughtful. 

"  What  have  you  seen,  father,  that  you  keep 
gazing  up  at  the  blue  sky  ?  "  the  little  daughter 
might  ask.  "  Where  have  you  lingered,  that 
you  come  home  so  late  ?  "  the  wife  would  say. 
But  the  man  could  not  yet  talk  about  the 
strange  music,  and  the  kneeling  in  the  early 
dawn  to  look  into  the  face  of  an  hou]>  old 
babe. 

Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  was  a  young 
girl,  of  the  house  and  lineage  of  David.  Cen- 
turies before  the  Lord  came  hither,  it  was 
predicted  that  He  should  be  born  of  a  virgin, 
and  that  Bethlehem  would  be  the  place  of  His 
birth. 

When  Mary,  spent  and  weary  with  her  long, 
long  journey  from  Nazareth,  reached  Beth- 
lehem, the  night  was  falling  fast,  and  her 
husband,  Joseph,  tried  hard  to  find  a  safe 
shelter  for  her  where  she  might  rest.  In  vain 
he  tried.  There  was  no  room  in  the  inn.  But 
there  was  a  stable,  clean  and  sweet  with  the 
breath  of  kine,  and  the  fragrance  of  hay,  and 
here  the  tired  traveller  made  her  bed.  Here, 
in  the  dim  stable,  lighted  by  a  rude  and  flar- 


28  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

ing  lamp,  she  first  saw  the  sweet  face  of  her 
first-born  Son. 

Before  our  Lord  was  born,  an  angel  had 
come  to  His  mother  and  had  announced  to  her 
what  sort  of  Child  she  should  bear,  and  had 
then  said,  ''  His  name  shall  be  called  Jesus." 
Jesus  means  Saviour.  So,  you  see,  every  step 
in  Christ's  progress  was  marked  for  Him  in 
heaven,  even  His  very  name  sent  down  before 
Him  from  the  skies. 

It  might  have  been  expected  that  when  God 
sent  His  only  Son  here  to  save  sinners  and 
bless  the  world,  He  would  have  had  Him  come 
into  a  splendid  house,  with  the  state  and  mag- 
nificence that  belong  to  royal  homes.  A  queen 
one  would  think,  might  have  cradled  Him  in 
her  arms,  while  long  trains  of  humble  serv- 
ants waited  to  care  for  Him,  and  do  His 
mother's  bidding. 

Not  so,  do  we  read  the  sweet  story  of  old. 
The  little  King,  Immanuel  God  with  us,  was 
the  child  of  poverty.  No  palace  for  Jesus, 
only  a  stable.  His  mother  was  not  a  queen, 
only  a  little  maiden  from  an  obscure  country 
home.  No  trains  of  servants  stood  mute  and 
anxious,  that  they  might  wait  on  her  in  her 
hour  of  need.  Even  the  inn  could  not  give 
her  a  bed.  She  and  her  Child  were  in  the 
stable,  and  the  Babe  slept  in  the  manger, 
when  the  Star,  its  mission  accomplished,  faded 


The  Song  in  the  Air  29 

into  the  sunlight  and  was  seen  no  more,  and 
the  angels  finished  their  song,  in  worlds  be- 
yond our  own. 

So,  dear  reader,  wherever  you  are,  you  are 
Christ's  child.  He  is  your  Brother.  No  one 
so  poor  as  He.  No  one  so  lowly-born.  You 
need  not  ever  be  afraid  to  go  to  Jesus,  the  lit- 
tle Son  of  Mary,  who  was  born  in  a  stable 
and  laid  in  a  manger. 

The  Christ-child  unto  the  stable  came 

'Twixt  the  midnight  and  the  morn, 
His  mother  laid  Him  softly  down 

By  the  beasts  of  hoof  and  horn. 
The  friendly  kine  a-near  Him  stood 

In  the  frost  of  the  early  day, 
And,  little  brother  of  all  the  poor, 

He  slept  in  the  fragrant  hay. 

The  Christ-child  slept  in  the  stable  dim, 

And  over  Him  flamed  the  star 
That  was  golden  bright  with  the  light  of  heaven 

Where  God  and  the  angels  are. 
Then,  journeying  far,  came  king  and  priest, 

With  a  wealth  of  spices  sweet, 
And,  little  brother  of  all  the  rich, 

They  knelt  to  kiss  His  feet. 

In  a  mother's  arms,  the  Christ-child  lay. 

When  the  winter  storm  was  wild. 
And  into  her  happy  brooding  face 

Her  baby  looked  and  smiled. 
Of  David's  line,  yet  peasant  born, 

And  Son  of  God  most  high  ; 
The  seraphs  sang  His  glorias 

And  the  star  lit  up  the  sky. 


30  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

A  gift  of  gifts  that  tender  Child 

Brought  hither  for  you  and  me  ; 
From  the  leaven  of  greed,  the  clutch  of  hate, 

By  love  to  be  ransomed  free. 
And  once  a  year,  in  the  long,  long  year, 

For  a  whole  and  happy  day, 
To  share  again  the  heart  of  the  Child 

Wherever  the  children  play. 

O  little  brother  of  every  man ! 

Obscure,  or  high,  or  great, 
Thine  is  the  alchemy  of  heaven 

Wrought  on  our  low  estate. 
We  find  Thee  still  in  the  stable  dim, 

But,  for  Thy  cradle  bed, 
Oh,  rest  not  now  in  the  manger  stall, 

Take  Thou  our  hearts  instead. 


in 

OF  THE  FLIGHT  INTO  EGYPT 

While  the  mother  and  her  little  Son  were 
safely  hidden  by  their  very  poverty,  since  no- 
body thought  of  looking  for  the  Child  of 
promise  in  the  stable  where  the  cattle  of  the 
inn  were  sheltered,  a  very  sad  thing  took 
place.  Herod,  the  King  of  the  Jews,  was  one 
of  the  most  wicked  tyrants  who  ever  lived. 
He  belonged  to  a  wicked  family.  Few  fam- 
ilies have  ever  had  so  black  a  page  in  history 
as  the  page  of  the  Herodian  dynasty. 

They  stopped  at  nothing,  the  people  of  the 
Herod  name;  they  carried  out  their  bad  de- 
signs at  any  cost.  Such  people  never  have 
an  easy  mind.  They  are  always  afraid  that 
something  is  going  to  happen  to  them,  that 
some  bolt  of  vengeance  is  about  to  fall  on  their 
heads.  Herod  had  heard  vague  rumours  that 
about  this  time,  the  world's  great  deliverer 
would  be  born.  This  might  mean  to  him  that 
his  throne  should  be  taken  away,  and  punish- 
ment be  visited  on  him  for  all  his  sins.  He 
must  search  for  this  heir  of  the  ages,  and  strike 
a  quick  and  effective  blow.  So  reasoned 
Herod. 

31 


32  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  Where  are  those  philosophers  who  came 
from  the  East  a  few  days  ago,  seeking  in  my 
dominions  for  the  Child  who  was  born  to  be 
King  of  the  Jews  ?  " 

I  can  hear  Herod  asking  this  question  of  his 
spies,  and  of  his  body-guard,  men  who  cringed 
at  his  frown,  and  were  swift  to  obey  his  com- 
mands. 

"They  were  to  return  and  conduct  me  to 
the  place  when  they  had  found  their  divinity. 
I  told  them  that  I  wanted  to  worship  Him  too. 
Who  has  seen  them?  By  what  road  have 
they  travelled,  that  they  did  not  come  hither 
to  take  leave  of  me  ?  " 

The  monarch  was  very  angry.  His  counte- 
nance grew  purple  with  rage.  He  clenched  his 
fists,  and  his  voice  was  like  the  furious  growl 
of  a  maddened  tiger.  There  was  tiger  blood 
in  the  veins  of  this  infamous  wretch,  on  whose 
shoulders  was  the  crimson  robe  of  a  royal 
house. 

In  vain  he  tried  to  find  out  the  abiding-place 
of  the  wise  men  from  the  East.  Their  wisdom 
had  led  them  away  from  his  palace,  and  they 
were  already  many  leagues  distant,  their 
camels  with  mighty  strides,  hasting  homeward 
over  desert  and  plain. 

"Well,"  said  Herod,  at  last,  "the  little 
Prince,  if  prince  He  be  shall  not  escape  me. 
I  will  kill  all  the  children  from  two  years  old 


Of  the  Flight  Into  Egypt  33 

and  under,  in  all  the  coasts  and  regions  round 
about,  and  among  them  surely  there  will  be 
slain  the  one  these  Eastern  dreamers  came  to 
worship." 

When  one  thinks  of  it  even  now,  one's  heart 
aches  to  imagine  the  bitter  sorrow  that  fell  on 
Bethlehem  in  that  terrible  day.  Was  there  a 
babe  in  any  home,  dimpled,  sweet,  rosy,  a  babe 
toddling  about  on  its  little  feet,  or  cradled  in 
its  mother's  arms,  it  was  doomed.  A  soldier 
with  a  sharp  sword  would  stalk  over  the 
threshold,  and  before  the  mother  could  snatch 
her  darling  up,  or  as  it  lay  in  her  lap,  with  one 
thrust  of  the  blade,  the  babe  was  murdered. 
Most  cruel  and  abhorred  of  all  men,  was  that 
vile  Herod  of  Judea  who  made  war  on  infancy 
that  he  might  slay  the  Christ. 

His  schemes  were  defeated  for  though  there 
was  lamentation  and  weeping,  a  wail  piercing 
to  heaven  from  all  that  land,  Mary  and  her 
little  Son  were  not  there.  Warned  by  an 
angel,  they  had  gone  down  into  Egypt,  there 
to  stay  until  this  storm  should  blow  over. 

Joseph,  Mary,  and  the  Babe,  found  refuge  in 
the  land,  where  many  centuries  before,  the 
Israelites  had  been  kept  in  harsh  bondage. 
Egypt  was  the  land  where  Joseph  had  been 
held  a  slave,  after  his  sale  to  Midianitish  trad- 
ers by  his  perfidious  brothers.  There  he  had 
become  the  prime  minister  of  Pharaoh,  and 


34  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

the  greatest  and  most  honoured  citizen  in  the 
country.  In  a  time  of  famine  his  brothers 
had  sought  food  for  their  families  from  Egypt, 
not  knowing  that  the  ruler  of  the  land  was 
the  one  they  had  sold  away  into  slavery.  He 
was  able  to  save  them  and  their  households, 
and  to  bring  his  old  father,  Jacob,  and  his  lit- 
tle brother,  Benjamin,  into  Egypt  where  they 
lived  in  peace  and  plenty  for  many  years.  As 
time  passed  the  Egyptians  were  not  kind  to 
the  Hebrews,  but  oppressed  them  in  a  cruel 
and  rigorous  servitude  after  strange  kings 
"  who  knew  not  Joseph,"  had  come  into  power. 
And  then,  by  a  series  of  extraordinary  deeds, 
Moses  set  the  people  free,  and  led  them  over 
the  Red  Sea  which  opened  before  them,  so 
that  the  green  waves  piling  high  on  either 
hand  like  emerald  walls,  they  passed  through 
the  flood  on  foot,  as  over  a  beaten  floor.  On 
through  the  wilderness  then,  to  Canaan. 

ISTow,  hundreds  of  years  have  gone,  and  the 
wilderness  track  is  taken  once  more,  by  a  little 
party  of  quiet  travellers,  as  the  Child  of  Mary 
is  borne  down  into  Egypt. 

A  prophet  of  the  olden  days  had  said,  "  Out 
of  Egypt  have  I  called  my  Son,"  and  every 
word  of  prophecy,  in  the  story  of  Jesus  our 
Saviour,  was  literally  fulfilled. 

As  Jewish  artisans  often  sojourned  in  Egypt, 
practicing  their  trades,  or  Jewish  merchants 


Of  the  Flight  Into  Egypt  35 

went  there  to  sell  their  wares,  it  was  not  an 
uncommon  thing  for  strangers  such  as  these 
to  stay  awhile  in  Egypt.  The  young  mother 
felt  safe  there,  watching  over  her  lovely  Child, 
and  Joseph,  her  grave  and  gentle-mannered 
husband,  tenderly  cared  for  them  both,  till 
word  came  that  Herod  was  dead.  "With  joy 
and  gladness  the  little  home  was  then  given 
up,  the  home  in  the  land  of  the  stranger,  and, 
breaking  camp,  the  three  returned  to  Judea. 

Before  the  flight  into  Egypt,  there  had  been 
a  very  beautiful  scene  in  the  Temple  at  Jeru- 
salem. When  Jesus  was  eight  days  old,  He 
was  circumcised,  as  the  Jewish  custom  required. 
A  little  later  His  parents  carried  Him  to  Jeru- 
salem, to  present  Him  to  the  Lord  before  the 
altar  of  sacrifice.  Rich  people  brought  a  lamb 
without  blemish  as  their  offering,  but  the  poor 
brought  only  a  pair  of  turtle-doves,  and  these 
were  the  offering  of  Mary. 

As  she  stood  there,  a  peasant-woman,  in  the 
dress  and  veil  that  Syrian  women  wore,  some- 
thing unusual  happened.  Shall  we  read  about 
it  in  the  words  of  St.  Luke  ? 

"  And,  behold,  there  was  a  man  in  Jerusa- 
lem, whose  name  was  Simeon ;  and  the  same 
man  was  just  and  devout,  waiting  for  the  con- 
solation of  Israel:  and  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
upon  him. 

"  And  it  was  revealed  to  him  by  the  Holy 


36  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

Ghost,  that  he  should  not  see  death,  before  he 
had  seen  the  Lord's  Christ. 

"  And  he  came  by  the  Spirit  into  the  temple : 
and  when  the  parents  brought  in  the  child 
Jesus,  to  do  for  Him  after  the  custom  of  the 
law, 

"Then  took  he  Him  up  in  his  arms,  and 
blessed  God,  and  said, 

"  Lord,  now  lettest  Thou  Thy  servant  depart 
in  peace,  according  to  Thy  word : 

"  For  mine  eyes  have  seen  Thy  salvation, 
which  Thou  hast  prepared  before  the  face  of 
all  people ; 

"  A  light  to  lighten  the  Gentiles,  and  the 
glory  of  Thy  people  Israel, 

"  And  Joseph  and  His  mother  marvelled  at 
those  things  which  were  spoken  of  Him. 

"  And  Simeon  blessed  them,  and  said  unto 
Mary  His  mother.  Behold,  this  child  is  set  for 
the  fall  and  rising  again  of  many  in  Israel ; 
and  for  a  sign  which  shall  be  spoken  against ; 

"  (Yea,  a  sword  shall  pierce  through  thine 
own  heart  also),  that  the  thoughts  of  many 
hearts  may  be  revealed. 

"  And  there  was  one  Anna,  a  prophetess,  the 
daughter  of  Phanuel,  of  the  tribe  of  Aser: 
she  was  of  a  great  age,  and  had  lived  with  an 
husband  seven  years  from  her  virginity ; 

"  And  she  was  a  widow  of  about  fourscore 
and  four  years,  which  departed  not  from  the 


Of  the  Flight  Into  Egypt  37 

temple,  but  served  God  with  fastings  and 
prayers  night  and  day. 

"And  she  coming  in  that  instant  gave 
thanks  likewise  unto  the  Lord,  and  spake  of 
Him  to  all  them  that  looked  for  redemption  in 
Jerusalem." 

Jesus  was  born  into  the  world  a  little  He- 
brew Child,  and  as  a  Hebrew  Child  He  was  very 
strictly  brought  up  and  taught  the  law  of  God. 
The  children  of  Israel  were  early  taught  the 
observances  of  their  faith,  were  trained  regu- 
larly to  attend  the  synagogue,  and  to  commit 
to  their  memories  such  parts  of  the  Scripture 
as  they  then  had.  This  was  the  sort  of  train- 
ing our  dear  Lord  had,  and  as  a  result,  we  are 
told,  that  "  the  ChUd  grew  and  waxed  strong 
in  spirit,  filled  with  wisdom,  and  the  grace  of 
God  was  upon  Him." 

The  years  went  on,  and  Jesus  was  the  de- 
light of  His  mother's  soul.  Think  of  it.  He 
was  a  sinless  Child.  The  dearest  and  best 
children  we  have  ever  seen,  are  sometimes 
willful  and  perverse,  fly  into  a  rage,  or  shed 
tears  from  angry  temper.  Which  of  us  does 
not  remember  with  shame  times  when  we  were 
unkind  or  cowardly  or  perhaps  deceitful,  or 
vain,  when  we  thought  too  highly  of  ourselves 
and  looked  down  on  some  one  else  ?  Which 
of  us  has  not  been  lazy  and  inclined  to  shirk 
a  task,  or  disobedient  and  in  heart  a  rebel 


38  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

against  father,  mother  or  teacher  ?  Alas,  the 
garment  of  our  soul  has  many  a  spot  and  stain. 
"We  compare  it  with  the  whiteness  of  our 
Saviour's  robes,  and  our  garment  looks  dark, 
more  like  wind-blown  and  dust-dimmed  snow, 
than  like  snow  new  fallen  from  the  skies.  But 
it  was  not  so  with  Jesus.  He  was  the  sinless 
Child,  pure  in  heart,  pure  in  speech,  and  pure 
in  deed.  No  other  child  ever  lived  through 
childhood's  years,  without  once  committing  a 
single  sin. 

The  old  painters  who  loved  to  depict  the 
Virgin  and  her  Child,  found  a  favourite  sub- 
ject in  the  Temple  scene  where  the  aged 
Simeon  and  the  aged  Anna  were  moved  to  so 
much  ecstasy  at  the  sight  of  this  little  One. 
Infants  were  daily  presented  to  Jehovah  in 
the  Temple.  There  must  have  been  some- 
thing in  the  face  of  Jesus,  far  sweeter,  far 
purer,  than  any  look  in  any  other  childish  face. 

I  sometimes  ask  myself, 

f 

"  Do  I  love  the  Lord  or  no, 
Am  I  His  or  am  I  not  ?  " 

And  then,  I  try  to  think  of  Him,  as  He  lay  in 
Mary's  arms,  the  Holy  Child,  the  Child  of 
Bethlehem.  I  am  sure  I  would  never  have 
turned  away  from  the  loveliness  and  majesty 
of  the  sinless  Child.  And  then,  with  the  chil- 
dren I  like  to  repeat. 


Of  the  Flight  Into  Egypt  39 

"  Gentle  Jesus,  meek  and  mild 
Look  upon  a  little  child, 
Pity  my  simplicity. 
Suffer  me  to  come  to  Thee. 

"  Fain  I  would  to  Thee  be  brought ; — 
Gracious  God,  forbid  it  not, 
In  the  kingdom  of  Thy  grace 
Grant  a  little  child  a  place." 


IV 

THE  CHILD  AND  THE  RABBIS 

You  know,  do  you  not,  that  the  passover, 
the  greatest  feast  of  the  Jews,  was  kept  in 
memory  of  the  time  when  they  escaped  from 
Egypt  and  the  bondage  in  which  they  were 
held  by  Pharaoh.  After  Pharaoh  had  again 
and  again  hardened  his  heart  and  refused  to 
let  the  Israelites  leave  his  house  of  bondage, 
God,  who  had  visited  the  Egyptians  with  suc- 
cessive dreadful  plagues,  sent  a  destroying 
angel  who  entered  every  door  in  Egypt.  In 
a  single  night,  this  angel  of  death,  swept 
across  the  doomed  land,  and  from  the  halls  of 
the  king,  to  the  hovel  of  the  meanest  churl, 
he  snatched  away  the  first-born  child.  In 
every  home,  a  child  lay  in  the  sleep  that 
knows  no  waking.  But  the  Lord  had  directed 
the  Israelites  to  sacrifice  a  lamb  to  Him,  and 
to  touch  their  door-posts  with  the  blood  of  the 
slain  lamb,  and  the  angel  entered  no  home, 
where  the  sacred  sign  of  the  blood  was  seen 
on  the  door.  Darkness  and  death  and  despair 
in  the  homes  of  the  Egyptians.  Life  and  light 
and  hope  like  a  kindling  glow,  in  the  homes 
of  the  Hebrews.  The  latter  were  dressed  as 
40 


The  Child  and  the  Rabbis  41 

for  a  journey  ;  and  on  their  tables  was  a  simple 
meal ;  the  flesh  of  the  lamb,  and  un- 
leavened bread,  the  bread  that  can  be  baked 
in  haste,  and  as  they  ate,  they  listened  for  the 
command  to  go  with  their  young  and  their  old, 
their  flocks  and  their  herds,  their  wives  and 
their  little  ones,  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt  and 
out  of  the  house  of  bondage. 

By  God's  command  in  all  their  later  history 
the  Jews  kept  the  Feast  of  the  Passover. 
Once  a  year  with  simple  rites,  each  household 
eating  the  feast  by  itself,  the  great  event  of 
the  national  deliverance  was  commemorated. 

Read  the  seventy-eighth  psalm,  which  be- 
gins, "  Give  ear,  O  my  people  to  my  law,  in- 
cline your  ears  to  the  words  of  my  mouth.  I 
will  open  my  mouth  in  a  parable.  I  will  utter 
dark  sayings  of  old,  which  we  have  heard  and 
known,  and  our  fathers  have  told  us.  We  will 
not  hide  them  from  our  children,  showing  to 
the  generation  to  come,  the  praises  of  the 
Lord,  and  His  strength,  and  His  wonderful 
works  that  He  hath  done."  This  psalm  and  the 
group  of  psalms  nearest  it,  are  lofty  hymns  of 
praise  to  Jehovah,  who  had  brought  the 
nation  out  of  its  troubles  and  set  it  in  a  large 
place.  You  could  not  spend  Sunday  after- 
noons better  than  in  marking  passages  in  the 
psalms,  and  in  the  portions  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment which  tell  how  God  redeemed  His  people 


42  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

with  a  mighty  hand.  In  the  book  of  Acts  of 
the  Apostles  you  will  find  Stephen,  in  his  de- 
fense before  the  High  Priest  and  the  San- 
hedrim, wonderfully  narrating  this  same  grand 
story. 

It  was  the  Jewish  custom,  once  every  year, 
to  keep  the  great  Passover  Feast  at  Jerusalem. 
In  a  period  when  books  as  we  have  them  were 
unknown,  and  parchment  rolls  carefully 
written  out  by  scribes  and  priests  were  costly 
and  rare,  never  owned  by  individuals,  but  only 
by  cities  and  communities,  guarded  under  lock 
and  key,  and  read  to  the  congregation  at 
stated  intervals,  the  national  history  was 
handed  down  by  word  of  mouth  from  father  to 
son.  Pilgrimages  across  country  to  the  great 
Temple  at  Jerusalem,  undertaken  by  tribes  and 
clans,  at  considerable  effort,  expense  and  in- 
convenience, helped  to  fix  the  patriotic  thought 
and  crystallize  it  into  something  that  could 
never  wear  out. 

When  Jesus  was  twelve  years  old.  His 
parents  went  to  Jerusalem  to  keep  the  Passover, 
and  for  the  first  time,  took  Him  with  them. 
At  twelve  or  thirteen,  a  Jewish  boy  was  sup- 
posed to  begin  sharing  the  religious  duties  of 
manhood.  He  had  been  taught  everything 
that  Joseph  knew  of  the  law  and  the  prophets, 
and  Mary  may  have  sometimes  told  Him  that 
more  was  expected  of  Him  than  of  other  chil- 


The  Child  and  the  Rabbis  43 

dren,  that  He  was,  in  a  sense,  different  from 
theirs,  His  Father's  Son.  Whether  or  not  this 
was  so,  the  boy  went  eagerly  up  to  the  great 
passover.  His  heart  filled  with  gladness.  His 
face  radiant.  In  the  company  of  His  kindred, 
He  may  not  always  have  kept  closely  at  His 
mother's  side.  Cousins,  nephews  and  near  re- 
lations were  often  spoken  of  as  brothers  and 
sisters  in  those  days. 

When  the  passover  was  finished,  and 
the  company  were  slowly  faring  home 
again,  Jesus  was  missed  by  Joseph  and 
Mary. 

"  And  when  they  had  fulfilled  the  days,  as 
they  returned,  the  child  Jesus  tarried  behind 
in  Jerusalem ;  and  Joseph  and  His  mother 
knew  not  of  it.  But  they,  supposing  Him  to 
have  been  in  the  company,  went  a  day's  jour- 
ney ;  and  they  sought  Him  among  their  kins- 
folk and  acquaintance. 

"  And  when  they  found  Him  not,  they  turned 
back  to  Jerusalem,  seeking  Him.  And  it  came 
to  pass,  that  after  three  days  they  found  Him 
in  the  temple,  sitting  in  the  midst  of  the 
doctors,  both  hearing  them,  and  asking  them 
questions. 

"  And  all  that  heard  Him  were  astonished  at 
His  understanding  and  answers.  And  when 
they  saw  Him,  they  were  amazed:  and  His 
mother  said  unto  Him,  Son,  why  hast  Thou 


44  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

thus  dealt  with  us  ?  behold,  Thy  father  and  I 
have  sought  Thee  sorrowing. 

"  And  He  said  unto  them,  How  is  it  that  ye 
sought  Me  ?  wist  ye  not  that  I  must  be  about 
My  Father's  business  ?  And  they  understood 
not  the  sayings  which  He  spake  unto  them. 

"  And  He  went  down  with  them,  and  came 
to  Nazareth,  and  was  subject  unto  them :  but 
His  mother  kept  all  these  sayings  in  her  heart. 

"  And  Jesus  increased  in  wisdom  and  stat- 
ure, and  in  favour  with  God  and  man." 

When  one  is  intensely  interested  in  any  pur- 
suit, time  jaies  by  like  a  dream.  Jesus,  for- 
gotten or  overlooked  by  His  elders,  had  drifted 
past  the  crowd,  into  some  room  of  the  Temple, 
where  the  learned  doctors,  men  of  grave 
and  reverend  aspect,  were  discussing  matters 
of  weighty  importance.  Fancy  a  child  of 
twelve,  standing  on  the  edge  of  a  group  of 
ministers  who  to-day  might  be  talking  about 
the  wonderful  deeds  and  words  of  God.  Hol- 
man  Hunt's  picture  shows  us  a  circle  of  seven 
venerable  men,  their  keen  dark  eyes  fastened 
on  a  slender  lad  standing  in  their  midst,  "  both 
hearing  them  and  asking  them  questions." 
Children  sometimes  ask  questions  that  are  hard 
to  answer.  I  think  Jesus  wanted  to  learn  all 
He  could  about  what  the  passover  meant,  why 
it  was  kept,  what  these  old  men  knew  of  the 
nation's  history.    His  whole  being  was  awake. 


The  Child  and  the  Rabbis  45 

Out  of  the  hush  of  His  country  home  at  Naza- 
reth, He  had  stepped  into  the  throbbing  life  of 
a  town  at  flood-tide.  He  had  seen  the  knife 
of  the  priest  smiting  the  lamb  on  the  altar. 
He  had  recited  the  responses  in  the  great 
assembly.  He  had  lifted  His  voice  in  the 
grand  Hallelujah  chorus.  His  mother  would 
not  be  at  His  side,  for  she  would  be  with  the 
women  who  worshipped  apart,  but  He  would, 
with  other  lads,  stand  among  the  men,  and  for 
the  first  time.  He  felt,  though  He  did  not  un- 
derstand it,  that  He  would  soon  be  a  man. 

When  Mary,  flushed  and  reproachful,  re- 
claimed her  lost  child  in  the  temple,  He  could 
not  at  once  come  back  to  earthly  things.  He 
had  not  noticed  the  lapse  of  time  ;  perhaps  He 
had  not  broken  bread  since  His  mother  had 
left  Him.  To  her  natural  inquiry  why  He  had 
given  His  parents  this  anxiety.  He  made  a 
reply,  already  quoted,  perplexing  enough  and 
strange  when  coming  from  childish  lips. 

"Wist  ye  not  that  I  must  be  about  My 
Father's  business  ?  " 

It  was  for  them  the  parting  of  the  ways. 
Their  child  had  heard  the  first  boom  of  the 
waves  that  were  to  bear  Him  far,  far  out  of 
their  sight.  He  spoke  without  a  thought  of 
disrespect,  as  one  who  announced  a  fact. 
They  knew  that  a  claim  higher  than  theirs 
had  been  laid  upon  the  child. 


46  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

Silently  they  turned  away,  and  meekly  He 
accompanied  them  to  the  home  in  Nazareth. 
The  Kabbis  looked  at  one  another,  strange 
thoughts  in  their  hearts.  No  doubt  some  of 
them  wondered  what  God  meant  to  do  through 
this  amazing  Boy,  so  unlike  other  boys,  so 
full  already  of  heavenly  insight  and  wisdom. 

Here  drops  the  curtain  for  many  years.  All 
that  we  are  told  is  "  that  Jesus  increased  in 
wisdom  and  stature  and  in  favour  with  God  and 
man." 

Jesus  went  to  Nazareth  with  His  parents 
and  was  subject  to  them,  that  is.  He  obeyed 
them  in  everything,  and  was  a  dutiful  and  lov- 
ing son  in  the  home.  Joseph  was  a  carpenter, 
and  in  the  shop  where  he  worked  with  plane 
and  saw,  I  am  sure  that  he  had  the  help  and 
companionship  of  the  Youth,  who  was  not  yet 
ready  to  go  out  into  the  world,  and  work 
among  men.  I  can  imagine  Him,  with  His 
sweet  serious  face,  and  His  steady  deft  hand, 
managing  tools  as  dexterously  as  later  He 
managed  men.  The  shavings  fell  on  the  floor, 
yellow  and  fragrant;  there  were  people  then 
who  had  in  their  houses,  chairs,  boxes  and  tables, 
and  the  Tokes  for  their  cattle,  and  made  by 
Him,  who  had  left  heaven  to  tarry  among 
working  people  here  below.  Surely  every 
working  man  should  love  Jesus  Christ,  who, 
in  the  quiet  years  in  Nazareth,  did  many  a  full 


The  Child  and  the  Rabbis  47 

day's  work  in  the  shop,  and  at  night  slept  as 
working  men  do,  the  deep  sleep  of  the  weary. 
If  in  the  time  to  come,  you  are  ever  tempted 
by  pride,  to  look  down  on  those  whose  hands  are 
hardened  with  toil,  say  to  yourself,  "  The  Lord 
of  Glory  did  not  think  it  beneath  His  dig- 
nity to  do  day's  labour  in  the  shop  of  a  car- 
penter. He  exemplified  in  His  own  life  the 
truthof  the  proverb  "before  honour  is  humility." 

To  Bethlehem  a  Child  there  came, 

Oh,  ages  long  ago, 
The  angels  brought  from  heaven  His  name 

That  fully  we  might  know 
The  errand  of  the  Christ-Child  here, 

To  bring  us  joy  and  mirth, 
To  bless  with  peace,  or  far  or  near, 

The  warring,  weary  earth. 

The  angels  sang  for  very  bliss 

Across  the  silent  skies  ; 
Was  ever  message  glad  as  this 

Here  sent  from  Paradise  ? 
At  rapture  of  that  kindling  word, 

The  morning  stars  again, 
As  erst,  to  melody  were  stirred, 

And  tuned  their  sweet  refrain. 

Adown  the  dewy  mountain  slope 

The  simple  shepherds  fared, 
Their  hearts  were  full  of  wistful  hope ; 

That  hope  the  world  hath  shared. 
With  staff  and  crook  and  girded  limb. 

They  left  the  flock  and  fold, 
And  found  tbeir  eager  way  to  Him 

By  ancient  Beers  foretold. 


48  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

They  found  Him  where  the  lowing  kine 

Stood  in  the  stable  dim  ; 
A  mother,  sweet  as  yonrs  or  mine, 

In  soft  arms  cradled  Him. 
Wise  men  by  trackless  deserts  led, 

Star-guided  found  Him  too. 
And  lowly  bowed  each  kingly  head  ; 

The  King  of  kings  they  knew. 

So  came  the  Child  to  Bethlehem  ! 

So  comes  He  still  to  men. 
And  we  may  bring  Him  gold  and  gain, 

And  worship  Him  as  then 
They  did,  whose  gifts  were  spice  and  myrrh  ; 

Ours  be  the  service  meet 
For  every  humble  worshipper 

To  kneel  and  kiss  His  feet. 


V 

TWO  YOUNG  MEN 

Forth  from  the  desert,  from  its  silence  and 
its  vastness,  came  John  the  Baptist.  Did  you 
ever  see  a  meteor  flash  across  the  sky  at  night  ? 
John  the  Baptist  was  like  that,  a  sudden 
great  light  breaking  on  the  darkness.  The 
times  were  full  of  evil.  Men  had  forgotten 
God.  Vices  from  idolatrous  nations  had  crept 
in  among  the  chosen  people.  The  heathen  had 
profaned  the  very  borders  of  the  temple.  In 
greed  to  make  money,  people  were  will- 
ing to  be  hypocrites  and  cheats.  It  was  an  hour 
when  Satan  reigned,  and  Jehovah  was  insulted. 

Once  before  in  the  history  of  the  Hebrews, 
a  man  had  come  forth  from  the  desert,  with 
words  of  warning  and  rebuke.  The  Jews  re- 
vered the  memory  of  Elijah  the  Tishbite,  a 
prophet  who  wore  rough  clothing,  and  feared 
no  man,  not  even  the  King.  John  the  Baptist 
was  very  much  like  Elijah.  He  appeared 
suddenly.  He  was  dressed  in  camel's  hair, 
with  a  leathern  girdle  about  his  loins.  He 
was  satisfied  with  the  desert's  simple  fare,  for 
his  meat  was  "  locusts  and  wild  honey." 

He  described  himself  as  "  the  voice  of  one 
49 


50  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

crying  in  the  wilderness,"  his  message  being, 
"Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord ; make  His 
paths  straight."  John  was  the  kinsman  of 
Jesus,  his  mother  Elizabeth  being  Mary's 
cousin.  His  father  and  mother  had  waited 
long  in  childlessness  and  were  old,  when  this 
son  was  given  them.  Like  Isaac,  who  was  born 
when  his  parents  were  old,  and  like  Samuel 
who  came  in  answer  to  prayer,  John  was  from 
birth  specially  endowed  with  gifts  and  graces. 
He  was  a  child  of  the  covenant,  and  among 
the  great  men  of  the  world,  few  may  take  a 
higher  place  than  John  the  Baptist.  As  you 
read  history  you  will  find  that  he  belongs  on 
the  roll  of  fame,  with  the  great  prophets  and 
reformers,  with  Elijah,  Isaiah,  and  Malachi, 
with  Savonarola  and  Martin  Luther  and  John 
Huss,  and  Oliver  Cromwell  and  John  Knox. 
A  few  years  after  his  first  magnificent  stride  on 
the  stage,  and  his  first  splendid  success,  he  died 
in  prison,  by  the  sword  of  Herod's  executioner, 
a  martyr  to  the  truth  he  had  preached.  And 
then,  Jesus  Himself  said  of  him,  "  Among  men 
born  of  women  there  hath  not  arisen  a  greater 
than  John  the  Baptist." 

In  ancient  times,  when  a  king  was  about  to 
visit  any  part  of  his  realm,  it  was  customary  to 
send  a  herald  before  him,  that  proper  prepara- 
tion to  receive  the  royal  guest  might  be  made. 
John  came  to  be  the  herald  or  forerunner  of 


Two  Young  Men  51 

Jesus.  During  the  quiet  years  at  Nazareth, 
Jesus  had  toiled  in  the  carpenter's  shop,  and  no 
doubt  had  spent  many  an  hour  at  evening  in  the 
fields  communing  with  His  Father  in  heaven. 
The  years  thus  passed  by  Jesus,  had,  by  John 
the  Baptist,  been  spent  in  contemplation.  As 
a  child,  in  the  house  of  a  priest,  he  had  been 
made  familiar  with  the  hallowed  rites  of  the 
temple,  and  had  grown  up  in  an  atmosphere  of 
prayer  and  piety.  Life  to  him  had  been  a  seri- 
ous thing,  and  he  had  never  longed  for  ease,  or 
been  moved  by  worldly  ambition.  "When  the 
right  moment  came,  he  stepped  out  of  ob- 
scurity, a  commanding  and  conspicuous  figure, 
with  a  gift  of  oratory,  a  scorn  and  contempt 
of  sin,  and  a  voice  like  a  trumpet.  He  stood 
by  the  bank  of  the  Jordan  and  cried  to  the 
crowds  who  trooped  to  hear  him,  "  Kepent  ye. 
Bring  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance." 

The  world  always  pauses  in  its  mad  career 
to  listen  to  the  man  with  convictions.  Not 
John's  rough  dress,  nor  his  leonine  face  and 
wild  hair,  nor  yet  the  compelling  music  of  his 
voice,  drew  to  him  the  hearts  of  men,  and 
made  them  like  wax  in  his  hands.  His  per- 
sonality was  tremendous  because  he  was  tre- 
mendously in  earnest.  If  you  want  to  move 
people  you  must  mean  what  you  say.  He 
meant  what  he  said,  believed  it  through  and 
through.     When  he  talked  to  the  Pharisees 


52  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

who  were  rather  given  to  self-conceit,  though 
good  people  on  the  whole,  and  to  the  Saddu- 
cees  who  were  skeptical  and  refused  to  believe 
God's  word,  to  the  Roman  soldiers  who  min- 
gled freely  in  the  throngs  about  him,  and  to 
the  publicans,  whom  everybody  distrusted,  he 
hit  in  every  case,  straight  from  the  shoulder. 
He  was  like  the  surgeon  who  is  not  contented 
to  graze  the  edge  of  a  wound,  but  cuts  to  the 
core,  and  extracts  the  evil  at  its  root. 

The  publicans,  as  a  class,  were  shameless 
robbers.  They  ground  the  poor  to  earth  and 
pillaged  the  rich,  and  in  consequence  they 
were  hated  by  both  rich  and  poor.  Nobody 
thought  a  publican  could  possibly  have  any 
good  in  him.  John  found  a  way  to  reach 
these  men,  and  told  them  that  repentance  for 
them  must  mean  being  just  and  honourable, 
and  exacting  no  more  than  the  law  allowed. 
The  soldiers  were  often  dreaded  in  the  com- 
munity, for  they  were  apt  to  brawl  and  bluster, 
and  were  given  to  trampling  on  the  rights  of 
others.  "Do  violence  to  no  man,"  said  the 
bold  reformer  whom  the  Roman  uniform  did 
not  daunt. 

Good  preaching  was  this  of  the  young  man 
from  the  desert.  Those  who  heard  it  were 
quick  to  respond.  They  confessed  their  sins, 
and  asked  to  be  baptized.  A  motley  crowd 
was  that  about  the  Jordan  river,  flowing  be- 


Two  Young  Men  53 

tween  its  steep  banks  and  rippling  in  the 
breeze,  little  ships  with  white  sails  floating  in 
the  distance,  and  on  the  water's  edge,  the 
rough  prophet  with  the  inspired  face,  baptiz- 
ing Jew  and  Koman,  and  all  who  truly  re- 
pented. 

One  day  as  John  was  baptizing,  down  to  the 
water's  edge,  came  a  man  young  like  himself. 
There  was  nothing  eccentric  in  His  dress  or 
exclusive  in  His  bearing.  He  wore  the  ordi- 
nary garb  of  the  Jew,  and  was  accompanied 
by  no  one.  Yet  the  crowd  parted  before  Him, 
they  knew  not  why,  and  He  presently  stood 
at  the  preacher's  side,  they  two  alone,  the  oth- 
ers at  a  little  distance,  as  if  they  were  specta- 
tors, near  enough  to  hear  remarkable  words, 
yet  themselves  making  no  comment. 

Those  nearest  thought  they  saw  tears  in  the 
eyes  of  John,  and  for  a  moment  wondered  if 
he  were  going  to  kneel.  But  he  remained 
standing. 

"  I  have  need,"  he  said,  "  to  be  baptized  of 
Thee,  and  comest  Thou  to  me  ?  " 

"  Suffer  it  to  be  so  now,"  said  the  man,  who 
bowed  His  head  to  the  baptism  of  the  cool 
Jordan  waves.  "  Suffer  it  to  be  so  now,  for 
thus  it  becometh  us  to  fulfill  all  righteousness." 

"  I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water  unto  re- 
pentance," John  had  cried  in  tones  that  rang 
across  the  distance  and  were  heard  on  the 


54  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

farthest  verge  of  the  throng,  "but  He  that 
Cometh  after  me  is  mightier  than  I,  whose 
shoe's  latchet  I  am  not  able  to  bear.  He  shall 
baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire." 

After  the  baptism  of  Jesus,  "  He  came  up 
out  of  the  water,  and  lo  !  a  voice  from  heaven 
was  heard  saying,  This  is  My  beloved  Son,  in 
whom  I  am  well  pleased." 

What  wonder  that  when  Jesus  preached, 
and  all  men  flocked  to  hear  His  words.  He 
preached  a  higher  message  than  that  of  John. 
"  Kepent  ye,"  said  Jesus,  "  for  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  at  hand." 

We  are  nearer  heaven  than  we  dream.  We 
do  not  know  it,  but  the  land  unseen  is  very 
close  to  ours,  and  there  are  those  in  heaven 
who  watch  what  is  going  on  here,  with  eyes 
of  the  tenderest  love.  To  you  and  me  God 
may  speak,  as  He  did,  to  Jesus  through  the 
opened  sky,  saying  that  He  is  well  pleased. 
Sometimes  He  comes  so  near  that  we  do  indeed 
know  His  presence  and  hear  His  voice.  But 
we  cannot  expect  this  gladness,  unless,  as  Jesus 
did,  we  live,  wholly  given  up  in  every  thought 
and  pulse  of  being,  to  do  the  Father's  will. 

"  And  this  is  the  record  of  John,  when  the 
Jews  sent  priests  and  Levites  from  Jerusalem 
to  ask  him.  Who  art  thou  ?  And  he  confessed 
and  denied  not;  but  confessed,  I  am  not  the 
Christ. 


Two  Young  Men  55 

"And  they  asked  him,  What  then?  Art 
thou  Elias?  And  he  saith,  I  am  not.  Art 
thou  that  prophet  ?    And  he  answered,  No. 

"  Then  said  they  unto  him,  Who  art  thou  ? 
that  we  may  give  an  answer  to  them  that 
sent  us.     What  say  est  thou  of  thyself  ? 

"  He  said,  I  am  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the 
wilderness.  Make  straight  the  way  of  the  Lord, 
as  said  the  prophet  Esaias. 

"And  they  which  were  sent  were  of  the 
Pharisees. 

"  And  they  asked  him,  and  said  unto  him. 
Why  baptizest  thou  then,  if  thou  be  not 
that  Christ,  nor  Elias,  neither  that  prophet  ? 

"John  answered  them  saying,  I  baptize 
with  water:  but  there  standeth  one  among 
you,  whom  ye  know  not ;  He  it  is,  who  com- 
ing after  me  is  preferred  before  me,  whose 
shoe's  latchet  I  am  not  worthy  to  unloose. 

"These  things  were  done  in  Bethabara  be- 
yond Jordan,  where  John  was  baptizing. 

"  The  next  day  John  seeth  Jesus  coming  unto 
him,  and  saith.  Behold  the  Lamb  of  God, 
which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world.  This 
is  He  of  whom  I  said.  After  me  cometh  a  man 
which  is  preferred  before  me  ;  for  He  was  be- 
fore me.  And  I  knew  Him  not :  but  that  He 
should  be  made  manifest  to  Israel,  therefore 
am  I  come  baptizing  with  water. 
"  And  John  bare  record,  saying,  I  saw  the 


56  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

Spirit  descending  from  heaven  like  a  dove,  and 
it  abode  upon  Him.  And  I  knew  Him  not : 
but  He  that  sent  me  to  baptize  with  water,  the 
same  said  unto  me,  upon  whom  thou  shalt  see 
the  Spirit  descending,  and  remaining  on  Him, 
the  same  is  He  which  baptizeth  with  the  Holy 
Ghost.  And  I  saw  and  bare  record  that  this 
is  the  Son  of  God. 

"  Again  the  next  day  after  John  stood,  and 
two  of  his  disciples ;  and  looking  upon  Jesus 
as  He  walked,  he  saith,  Behold  the  Lamb  of 
God! 

"And  the  two  disciples  heard  him  speak, 
and  they  followed  Jesus." 

Behold  the  Lamb  of  God !  None  who  heard 
that  phrase  misunderstood  its  meaning.  The 
smoke  of  the  sacrifice  never  ceased  on  the 
temple-altars,  and  forever  were  lambs  without 
blemish  brought  to  be  offered.  Behold  the 
Lamb  of  God.  So  let  us  behold  this  Lamb, 
slain  for  us,  and  say, 

"Just  as  I  am,  without  one  plea 
But  that  Thy  blood  was  shed  for  me, 
And  that  Thou  bidst  me  come  to  Thee 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come  ! 

"  Just  as  I  am  and  waiting  not 
To  rid  my  soul  of  one  dark  blot, 
To  Thee  whose  blood  can  cleanse  each  spot 
O  Lamb  of  God,  I  come." 


VI 

THE  TEMPTATION 

In  my  girlhood  there  were  few  books  writ- 
ten for  the  young,  and  so,  as  a  reading  child, 
I  read  grown  up  people's  books.  A  child 
who  loves  to  read  will  find  great  pleasure 
in  books,  although  they  may  be  a  little  beyond 
her  comprehension.  Among  the  books  I  de- 
voured and  read  over  and  over  until  I  knew 
it  almost  by  heart  was  Bunyan's  "  Pilgrim's 
Progress." 

One  of  my  favourite  chapters  described  a 
terrible  fight  that  Christian  had  with  a  foul 
fiend  named  Apollyon.  This  monster  was 
hideous  to  behold  with  scales  like  a  fish,  wings 
like  a  dragon,  and  feet  like  a  bear.  In  our 
copy  of  the  book  there  was  a  print  showing 
him  in  all  his  panoply  of  frightful  ugliness, 
fire  and  smoke  issuing  from  his  body,  and  his 
mouth  like  the  mouth  of  a  lion.  This  creature, 
the  great  adversary  of  mankind  in  person, 
came  roaring  out  on  the  pilgrim  who  stood  his 
ground  defiantly.  He  could  not  run  away,  for 
he  had  no  armour  for  his  back.  The  Wicked 
One  approached  with  anger  and  disdain,  and 
57 


58  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

the  conflict  was  long  and  awful,  poor  Christian 
being  grievously  wounded  before  it  was  ended, 
and  once  being  thrown  quite  to  the  ground. 
Nimbly  springing  up,  he  called  out,  "  Kejoice 
not  over  me,  mine  enemy,  though  I  fall,  I 
shall  rise  again."  Soon  after  this  Apollyon 
spread  his  black  dragon  wings  and  flew  away, 
and  Christian  went  on  Jais  journey  vic- 
torious. 

We  cannot  understand  it,  but  the  devil, 
strange  as  it  seems,  dared  to  confront  the 
Lord  of  Christians.  Christ  was  to  undergo 
every  trial  that  could  ever  befall  His  follow- 
ers. But  He  was  not  to  be  wounded  or  thrown 
down. 

"  Christ  leads  us  through  no  darker  room 
Than  He  went  through  before." 

Eeturning  from  Jordan  full  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  voice  from  heaven  still  sounding  in 
His  ears,  Jesus  was  led  by  the  Spirit  into  the 
wilderness.  He  must  be  alone  for  awhile  be- 
fore He  could  be  ready  to  meet  great  multi- 
tudes and  perform  great  works. 

He  was  there  in  the  wilderness  forty  days, 
during  which  time  He  tasted  no  food.  After- 
wards He  hungered.  Into  the  wilderness  fast- 
ness, ventured  a  black- winged  angel,  bold  and 
daring,  whose  errand  was  to  tempt  Jesus  and 
try  if   possible  to  sully  His  purity  and  lead 


The  Temptation  59 

Him  into  sin.  The  devil  was  skillful  in  black 
arts,  smooth-tongued  and  polite,  and  very  per- 
severing. He  returned  again  and  again  to  the 
combat  though  always  foiled.  Not  till  he  had 
ended  all  the  temptation  did  he  depart  from 
Jesus  for  a  time. 

Why  was  the  Sinless  One,  at  the  very  outset 
of  His  ministry,  confronted  by  the  Prince  of 
the  powers  of  evil  ?  Apollyon  probably  came 
in  shining  armour,  dark,  yet  impressive,  not  as 
the  foul  fiend  darting  at  poor  tired  Christian. 
He  would  not  bring  his  dragon  wings  or  his 
scaly  coat  of  mail  to  the  desert  place  where  he 
subtly  tried  to  tempt  the  Son  of  God.  Yet, 
he  was  the  same  old  devil  who  first  assailed 
Eve  in  Eden,  and  whom,  if  you  have  read  the 
"  Pilgrim's  Progress  "  you  remember  as  attack- 
ing Christian  and  hotly  disputing  his  way,  try- 
ing to  put  an  end  to  him.  At  the  time  of  our 
dear  Lord's  coming,  the  devil  and  his  angels 
were  very  active  in  the  world  and  very  busy 
indeed  in  Palestine.  Jesus  was  to  vanquish 
demons  and  send  them  out  of  the  poor  people 
they  were  destroying.  First,  He  must  Himself 
have  a  hand-to-hand  conflict  with  the  Arch- 
deceiver  and  most  deadly  adversary,  and  come 
off  from  the  strife,  a  conqueror. 

You  must  notice,  that  Jesus  being  full  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  was  led  by  the  Spirit  to  go  apart 
from  the  multitude  and  have  a  period  of  se- 


6o  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

elusion  and  quiet,  before  beginning  His  public 
work. 

When  we  are  most  exalted,  we,  who  are  sin- 
ful and  erring  human  beings,  when  we  are 
most  uplifted  to  a  high  and  lofty  plane,  are  in 
most  danger  of  reaction.  The  pendulum 
swings  from  great  joy  to  deep  melancholy. 
The  one  who  was  on  the  crest  of  the  wave 
yesterday  may  be  in  the  trough  of  the  sea  to- 
morrow. 

Jesus  was  not  as  we  are,  erring  and  imper- 
fect, but  He  was  a  man,  "  in  all  points  tempted 
as  we  are,  yet  without  sin."  He  came  to  be 
our  Saviour,  so  He  had  to  know  our  dangers 
and  our  temptations  too.  The  devil  is  always 
coming  after  us,  and  trying  to  undermine  us 
by  his  snares,  but  there  is  no  need  that  he 
should  overcome  us.  Kesist  the  devil  and  he 
will  flee  from  you.  Make  a  brave  stand  up 
jBght  against  the  devil,  and  he  will  leave  you 
and  seek  for  easier  prey.     The  devil  is  a  coward. 

The  devil  takes  a  mean  advantage  of  people 
when  they  are  tired  and  hungry.  Jesus  had 
been  fasting  for  days.  In  His  mood  of  spir- 
itual elevation  He  had  no  desire  for  food  and 
drink,  but  as  that  passed.  He  became  spent 
and  famished. 

This  was  the  Wicked  One's  opportunity. 
"  If  Thou  be  the  Son  of  God,  command  this 
stone  that  it  be  made  bread." 


The  Temptation  6l 

Jesus  answered  him  saying,  that "  It  is  writ- 
ten, man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  by 
every  word  of  God." 

You  see,  what  a  good  thing  it  is  to  know 
one's  Bible.  Jesus  knew  His  Bible.  If  you 
know  what  God  has  said,  you  always  have  a 
weapon.  The  Bible  is  a  sword  that  is  mighty 
in  battle. 

Observe  that  the  devil  tried  to  persuade 
Jesus  to  use  miraculous  power  for  a  doubly 
selfish  end.  To  prove  to  him  that  He  was  the 
Son  of  God,  and  to  relieve  His  own  urgent 
want.  Christ  never  once  wrought  a  miracle 
for  His  individual  need  or  comfort,  or  for  any- 
thing connected  with  self.  Notice  this  too,  that 
Jesus  never  wrought  a  miracle  in  direct  oppo- 
sition to  the  laws  of  nature.  Dead  stones 
cannot  be  made  into  living  bread.  Jesus  some- 
times hastened  law,  but  He  never  violated  it. 

The  wily  Wicked  One,  now  tried  another 
tack.  He  took  Jesus  up  into  a  high  mountain 
and  showed  Him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world  in  a  moment  of  time  and  said,  "Tou 
shall  have  all  this,  all  of  it,  the  power  and  the 
glory,  it  is  within  my  power  to  promise  it. 
Fall  down  and  worship  me^  and  not  a  prince 
or  a  king  but  shall  fall  down  and  worship  you. 
Think  of  it !  Such  an  easy  condition  !  Such 
a  dazzling  reward !  " 

But,  though  in  this  strange  world  of  ours, 


62  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

men  have  sold  theu*  souls  to  the  devil,  and  en- 
joyed a  brief  season  of  power,  wealth  andglory, 
only  to  go  to  unquenchable  fire  hereafter, 
Jesus  was  not  a  man  to  be  thus  tempted.  His 
purity  was  unsullied  by  such  a  wish  as  this 
which  the  devil  tried  to  lure  Him  with.  He 
was  a  young  man  of  Galilee,  unknown,  poor, 
and  the  lure  held  out  to  Him  was  that  He  should 
deliver  His  people  from  the  yoke  of  the  Ro- 
man, restore  their  ancient  glory,  and  Himself 
sit  on  the  throne  of  the  Imperial  Caesars. 

Not  for  one  second  did  this  temptation  at- 
tract Jesus,  He  said  in  cold  clear  accents,  that 
might  well  have  warned  His  adversary,  "  It  is 
written,  Thou  shalt  worship  the  Lord  thy  God 
and  Him  only  shalt  thou  serve.  Get  thee  be- 
hind Me,  Satan." 

One  would  suppose  that  this  defiance  might 
have  sent  the  devil  flying  away  in  dismay,  but 
no,  he  tried  again.  He  next  tried  to  make 
Jesus  cast  Himself  down,  through  sheer 
abysses  of  space,  from  a  pinnacle  of  the 
temple,  expecting  that  God  would  deliver 
Him.  Note  that  Jesus  never  puts  a  premium 
on  mere  fool-hardiness.  Calmly  He  answered, 
It  is  said,  "  Thou  shalt  not  tempt  the  Lord  thy 
God."  And  now  the  devil  took  his  leave. 
From  that  time,  he  interfered  directly  no  more 
with  Jesus  of  Nazareth, 

Though  the  great  Wicked  One  did  not  at- 


The  Temptation  63 

tempt  any  more  duels,  so  to  speak,  with  the 
Son  of  God,  he  was  His  implacable  foe  so  long 
as  Jesus  lived  on  the  earth.  His  wiles  were 
the  inspiration  of  bad  men,  he  was  at  every 
point  prompting  the  envy  and  malice  and 
hatred  of  those  who  did  not  love  the  meek  and 
lowly  Nazarene.  Again  and  again  did  Jesus 
put  the  devil  to  flight  when  the  people  whom 
Jesus  cared  for  were  assaulted  by  him.  The 
demons  cried,  "  I  know  Thee,  who  Thou  art, 
the  Holy  One  of  God,"  and  they  could  not 
stand  before  the  word  of  command  that  Jesus 
spoke. 

From  His  triumphant  strife  with  Satan, 
Jesus  came  again  into  the  world  of  men,  and 
soon  He  began  to  gather  followers  around 
Him.  From  this  time  He  lived  where  every- 
body could  see  and  hear  Him,  a  life  in  the  pub- 
lic eye,  such  as  few  men  have  ever  lived. 

Jesus  was  thirty  years  old,  when  His  work 
among  men  began.  It  was  to  continue  three 
years.  The  first  step  in  the  drama  was 
taken.  He  went  to  His  old  home,  but  not 
to  work  any  more  at  Joseph's  bench,  for 
He  must  be  about  His  Heavenly  Father's 
business.  So  He  went  into  the  synagogue  on 
the  Sabbath  day,  opened  the  Book,  and  began 
to  read.  His  first  teaching  being  among  His 
kindred  and  neighbours,  among  the  children 
who  had  grown  up  with  Him,  and  the  old  folk 


64  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

who  remembered  Him  as  a  Child.  He  was  to 
preach  all  over  Galilee,  through  its  hills  and 
vales,  and  beside  the  sea.  "  Eepent  ye,"  was 
His  message,  "  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand." 


VII 

BESIDE  THE  SEA 

"  Mastek,  where  dwellest  Thou  ?  " 
The  question  fell  wistfully  from  the  lips  of 
a  young  man,  who  had  been  one  of  John's 
disciples.  Disciple  means  scholar.  To  have 
sat  at  the  feet  of  John  the  Baptist  and  learned 
of  him,  was  to  be  ready  to  advance  to  a 
higher  grade.  John's  disciple  might  easily 
become  Christ's  follower. 

"  Come  and  see,"  said  Jesus.  So  this  man 
and  another  accepted  the  invitation.  They 
came  and  saw  where  He  dwelt,  and  that  night 
they  abode  with  Him.  It  was  about  the 
tenth  hour,  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

"  One  of  the  two  which  heard  John  speak, 
and  followed  him,  was  Andrew,  Simon  Peter's 
brother. 

"  He  first  findeth  his  own  brother  Simon,  and 
saith  unto  him,  We  have  found  the  Messias, 
which  is,  being  interpreted,  the  Christ. 

"And  he  brought  him  to  Jesus.     And  when 
Jesus  beheld  him.  He  said,  Thou  art  Simon 
the  son  of  Jonas :  thou  shalt  be  called  Cephas, 
which  is  by  interpretation,  A  stone. 
65 


66  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  And  the  day  following  Jesus  would  go 
forth  into  Galilee,  and  findeth  Philip,  and 
saith  unto  him,  Follow  Me. 

"  Now  Philip  was  of  Bethsaida,  the  city  of 
Andrew  and  Peter. 

"  Philip  findeth  Nathanael,  and  saith  unto 
him.  We  have  found  Him,  of  whom  Moses  in 
the  law,  and  the  prophets,  did  write,  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  the  son  of  Joseph. 

"  And  Nathanael  said  unto  him,  Can  there 
any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  ? 
Philip  saith  unto  him.  Come  and  see. 

"  Jesus  saw  Nathanael  coming  to  Him,  and 
saith  of  him,  Behold  an  Israelite  indeed,  in 
whom  there  is  no  guile  ! 

"  Nathanael  saith  unto  Him,  Whence  know- 
est  thou  me  ?  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto 
him,  Before  that  Philip  called  thee,  when 
thou  wast  under  the  fig-tree,  I  saw  thee. 

"Nathanael  answered  and  saith  unto  Him, 
Kabbi,  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God ;  Thou  art  the 
King  of  Israel. 

"  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him,  Because 
I  said  unto  thee,  I  saw  thee  under  the  fig-tree, 
believest  thou  ?  thou  shalt  see  greater  things 
than  these. 

"  And  He  saith  unto  him,  Yerily,  verily,  I  say 
unto  you,  Hereafter  ye  shall  see  heaven  open, 
and  the  angels  of  God  ascending  and  descend- 
ing upon  the  Son  of  man." 


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Beside  the  Sea  67 

In  another  place  we  are  told  how  Peter  and 
James  and  John,  fishermen  of  Galilee,  left 
their  nets  at  the  Saviour's  call.  "Follow 
Me ! "  He  said,  and  they  heard  and  obeyed. 

They  did  not  cease  to  be  fishermen.  Often 
after  they  became  the  servants  and  friends  of 
Christ,  they  went  out  on  the  lake  in  their 
little  boats  and  toiled  till  they  had  a  catch 
that  they  might  bring  to  land.  There  are 
beautiful  pictures  of  the  Master  and  the 
fisherfolk  all  through  the  gospels.  But  their 
chief  business  was  not  fishing,  nor  earning 
money,  nor  doing  anything  whatever,  except 
serving  the  Master.  That  came  first  from  the 
day  they  heard  Him  speak.  Jesus  called 
Andrew,  Peter,  John,  James,  Nathanael  Mat- 
thew, Zaccheus  each  by  name,  and  thencefor- 
ward they  were  not  their  own,  but  His.  He 
calls  you  and  me  by  our  names  as  He  called 
them.     Are  we  ready  to  be  His  disciples  ? 

As  soon  in  that  day,  as  any  one  knew  the 
beautiful  secret  of  Jesus'  love,  he  went  and 
told  somebody  else.  It  was  the  sort  of  thing 
that  was  too  good  to  keep.  Jesus,  so  loving, 
so  winning,  so  wonderful,  asked  a  man  to  be 
His  friend.  The  man  did  not  hesitate  a 
minute.  He  left  all,  and  followed  Jesus,  and 
he  begged  his  brothers,  and  cousins,  and  ac- 
quaintances to  come  too. 

There  are  other  instances  in  history  of  this 


68  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

singular  influence  exercised  by  a  winning  per- 
sonality. When  the  great  Napoleon  came 
back  from  his  exile  at  Elba,  he  stepped  on  the 
soil  of  France  almost  alone,  but  the  news  of 
his  return  soon  spread  like  wild-fire ;  his  old 
soldiers  rallied  about  him,  and  in  a  day  or  two 
he  was  again  the  leader  of  an  army.  Courage 
and  daring  and  magnetism  have  ever  won  the 
hearts  of  men.  But  Jesus  had  no  story  be- 
hind Him,  no  record  to  waken  enthusiasm. 
He  was  absolutely  new,  and  so  to  speak,  ap- 
peared out  of  space,  as  had  His  own  Star  in 
the  East.  He  walked  along  the  beach,  and 
the  fishermen  mending  their  nets,  or  coming 
in  to  shore,  their  boats  laden  with  shining 
spoil,  or  perhaps  returning  empty-handed  and 
sorrowful,  felt  the  magic  of  His  gaze.  He 
glanced  at  them  and  their  hearts  leaped  up  to 
answer  His  look.  Long  after  these  days,  there 
was  a  young  man  who  hated  Jesus,  and  tried 
with  all  his  might  to  hurt  His  cause,  and  kill 
His  disciples.  The  young  man  was  hurrying  on 
the  highroad  with  a  troop  of  people,  bent  on  the 
massacre  of  those  who  served  the  Christ.  Sud- 
denly, at  midday  there  shone  a  light  from 
heaven,  and  out  of  that  light,  straight  into  the 
young  man's  eyes,  looked  the  eyes  of  Jesus. 
One  blinding,  blazing  moment,  they  looked, 
those  reproachful,  compassionate,  masterful 
eyes.     "Lord  what   wilt   Thou  have  me  to 


Beside  the  Sea  69 

do  ?  "  instantly  cried  the  vanquished  foe,  from 
that  hour  a  loyal  friend,  a  friend  and  servant 
of  the  Lord  to  the  last  breath  of  life. 

As  Jesus  looked  at  men  and  spoke  to  them, 
they  did  not  resist  His  call  or  deny  His  claim. 

"Follow  Me,"  He  said  to  the  fishermen, 
"  and  I  will  make  you  fishers  of  men."  That 
meant  that  they  should  have  higher  work, 
worthier  work,  work  farther  reaching. 

The  characters  of  these  men  who  became 
the  first  known  among  the  followers  of  Jesus, 
were  different.  Peter  was  a  lovable  man, 
warm-hearted,  zealous  and  impulsive.  He  was 
married,  and  in  his  home  his  wife's  mother, 
honoured  and  cherished  as  the  mother-in-law 
has  always  been  in  the  East,  lay  sick  of  a 
fever  at  the  very  time  Christ  summoned  Peter 
to  other  service  than  fishing.  The  Master 
entered  the  home,  stood  by  the  couch,  laid  a 
cool  hand  on  the  hot  brow,  spoke  a  gentle 
word  and  lo !  the  fever  left  the  sufferer.  She 
was  all  at  once  well,  and  rose  and  ministered 
to  the  household.  Ho  wonder  that  they 
brought  other  sick  people  to  Jesus,  begging 
Him  to  heal  them. 

John  and  James  were  brothers,  sons  of 
Zebedee,  a  well-to-do  owner  of  boats  and  a 
person  of  some  consequence.  Their  mother 
was  a  woman  of  more  than  ordinary  thought- 
fulness,  and    a    loving  mother.    She  was  a 


yo  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

woman  who  had  ambition  for  her  sons  and 
longed  to  see  them  in  honourable  places. 

These  two  brothers  became  very  intimate 
with  Jesus  Christ.  John  indeed  was  His  very 
closest  earthly  friend.  James  in  a  day,  yet  to 
dawn,  was  to  be  the  first  in  the  band  nearest 
Jesus  on  earth,  to  lay  down  his  life  and  win  a 
martyr's  crown. 

Nathanael,  a  quiet  meditative  personage, 
was  disposed  to  question  whether  anything 
good  could  come  out  of  Nazareth  ?  Just  as 
there  are  parts  of  New  York  and  Chicago  and 
London  and  Paris,  that  have  not  a  good 
reputation,  just  as  some  little  towns  and 
hamlets  are  thought  to  be  dangerous  and  the 
haunts  of  evil  men,  so  Nazareth  was  the  scoff 
of  other  towns,  and  Nathanael  would  not  be- 
lieve that  the  hope  of  the  ages  could  come 
from  it.  But  when  Jesus  spoke  to  Nathanael, 
his  doubts  were  soon  as  morning  mists 
scattered  by  the  sun. 

"  When  thou  wert  under  the  fig-tree,  I  saw 
thee,"  said  Jesus. 

"  Nathanael  answered  and  said  unto  Him, 
Eabbi,  Thou  art  the  Son  of  God ;  Thou  art  the 
King  of  Israel. 

"  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto  him.  Because 
I  said  unto  thee,  I  saw  thee  under  the  fig-tree, 
believest  thou  ?  thou  shalt  see  greater  things 
than  these. 


Beside  the  Sea  71 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  Hereafter  ye 
shall  see  heaven  open,  and  the  angels  of  God 
ascending  and  descending  upon  the  Son  of 
man." 

The  despised  Nazarene,  you  may  see  made 
from  the  outset  a  claim  that  no  mere  mortal 
man  ever  made.  He  was  the  Son  of  Man, 
but  it  was  as  God's  Son,  that  He  drew  men 
to  Him.  Men  of  all  sorts  and  conditions, 
learned,  ignorant,  glad,  sorrowful,  they  came 
to  Him  at  His  call. 

"  In  the  beauty  of  the  lilies  Christ  was  bom  across  the  sea, 
With  a  glory  in  His  bosom  that  transfigures  you  and  me." 

Though  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men 
freely  yielded  to  Jesus  when  He  bade  them 
come,  young  men  seemed  to  flock  to  Him, 
rather  than  old.  He  was  a  young  man,  and 
young  people  belonged  to  Him,  and  could  not 
stay  away.  As  when  He  was  here  below,  so 
now  that  He  is  in  heaven,  wearing  the  crowns 
of  all  worlds.  He  specially  and  earnestly  calls 
the  young.  He  is  calling  you.  Do  not  let 
Him  call  in  vain. 


VIII 

JESUS  AS  A  WEDDING  GUEST 

I  HAVE  never  forgotten  the  impression 
made  on  my  childish  mind  by  the  first  wedding 
I  ever  saw.  The  bride  in  her  beautiful  gown, 
the  groom  looking  so  proud  and  pleased,  the 
circle  of  spectators,  the  minister,  the  music, 
the  solemn  ceremony,  the  flowers,  the  happy 
confusion  of  congratulations,  the  cake  cut  by 
the  bride's  hand,  the  merry  going  away  of  the 
newly  married  pair,  are  all  as  vividly  present 
before  me,  as  if  that  wedding  of  long  ago,  had 
taken  place  yesterday.  A  wedding  is  an  oc- 
casion of  rejoicing,  a  function  to  which  hope 
and  gayety  belong  of  right.  In  every  age  and 
in  all  circumstances,  weddings  are  associated 
with  the  gladness  of  the  thing  that  begins,  the 
thing  to  which  the  past  contributes  and  which 
the  future  must  serve.  We  adore  a  bride  and 
our  interest  in  weddings  never  wanes,  witness 
the  crowds  of  strangers  who  gather  merely  to 
watch  the  coming  and  going  of  a  bridal  pro- 
cession. 

Oriental  marriages  are  differently  arranged 
and  conducted  from  ours,  but  the  underlying 
principle  and  motive  are  the  same.  The  bride 
72 


H 

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< 
o 

P 
H 


Jesus  as  a  Wedding  Guest  73 

accompanied  by  her  maidens  and  her  people 
leaves  her  father's  house,  and  the  bridegroom 
with  his  retinue  comes  to  meet  her.  The 
coronation  of  the  function  is  a  feast,  to  which 
all  kindred,  friends  and  acquaintances  are  in- 
vited, and  this  feast  is  a  real  merrymaking. 

There  was  a  wedding  in  Cana  of  Galilee, 
and  the  mother  of  Jesus  was  there,  and  both 
Jesus  and  His  disciples  were  invited  to  the 
marriage.  A  family  friend  no  doubt,  and 
probably  intimate,  the  mother  of  Jesus  was 
one  of  the  honoured  guests,  and  her  presence 
was  regarded  as  a  pleasure.  Jesus  was  asked, 
and  Jesus  accepted  the  invitation.  He  did  not 
absent  Himself  from  the  ordinary  or  the 
extraordinary  affairs  of  life.  He  went  freely 
out  and  in  among  men,  as  freely  going  to  the 
house  of  feasting,  as  He  went  pityingly  to  the 
house  of  mourning.  Some  people  think  of  the 
Lord  as  a  Man  of  Sorrows  and  acquainted  with 
grief  and  only  as  that.  He  was  a  many-sided 
Man,  a  Man  of  quick-springing  sympathy  with 
joy  as  well  as  with  sadness. 

I  think  of  my  Master  as  wearing  a  face  so 
bright  that  when  He  came  into  any  house, 
that  house  grew  light  and  bright.  I  cannot 
think  of  Him  as  ever  bringing  gloom.  The 
wet-blanket  kind  of  Christian  with  the  long 
face  and  perpetual  frown  has  not  caught  the 
spirit  of  the  Master.     It  must  have  made  one 


74  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

glad  only  to  be  in  the  same  room  with 
Jesus. 

Well,  the  wedding  bells  rang  cheerily  and 
the  wedding  went  gaily  onward,  until  an  inci- 
dent occurred  that  disturbed  the  host.  Is  any- 
thing more  embarrassing  than  to  find  that  one's 
provision  for  an  entertainment  has  proved 
insuflS.cient  ?  The  wine  of  the  country,  the  ex- 
pressed juice  of  the  grape,  was  the  usual  drink 
on  a  festive  occasion.  The  host  had  not 
calculated  rightly.  There  was  not  enough. 
No  doubt  the  wife  of  the  host  told  Mary. 
What  were  they  to  do  ?  Could  she  suggest 
anything  ?  Rachel's  or  Rebecca's  or  Hannah's 
marriage  to  be  ruined  by  this  lack,  the  house 
thus  stigmatized,  it  was  most  vexatious.  The 
good  people  were  sadly  troubled. 

Mary  spoke  a  word  to  her  son.  "They 
have  no  wine,"  she  said.  I  don't  know  what 
she  thought  He  would  do,  but  it  is  evident 
that  she  rested  confidently  and  without  a  fear 
on  His  power  and  His  ability  to  do  something. 

She  said  calmly  to  the  servants.  Do  whatever 
He  tells  you,  "  Whatsoever  He  saith  unto  you, 
do  it."  It  was  as  if  she  had  authority  in  the 
house.  It  was  certainly  said  and  done  as  if 
she  had  serenest  faith  in  Jesus,  that  this  thing, 
a  little  thing  in  one  way,  a  great  thing  in 
another,  would  be  set  right  by  His  hand. 

"Fill  the  water-pots  with  water,"  said  the 


Jesus  as  a  Wedding  Guest  75 

wedding  guest,  who  could  work  a  miracle  if 
He  chose. 

They  filled  them  up  to  the  brim. 

"  Draw  out  now  and  bear  to  the  governor  of 
the  feast." 

And  they  bare  it. 

And  when  the  governor  of  the  feast  tasted 
this  water,  that  was  not  now  water,  but  ruby 
wine,  he  found  it  of  a  vintage,  a  flavour,  a  rare 
sweetness  surpassing  any  he  had  ever  tasted 
before. 

"  Some  men,"  he  said  to  the  host,  "  set  out 
the  best  wine  first ;  but  thou  hast  kept  the 
good  wine  until  now," 

Jesus  was  willing  to  use  His  great  power  of 
working  miracles,  that  He  might  make  people 
happy. 

Jesus  did  not  keep  aloof  from  places  where 
folk  had  a  good  time.  You  hear  people  ask, 
"  May  I  go  here  or  there,  may  I  do  this  or  the 
other,  if  I  am  a  Christian  ? "  Why  yes,  as  a 
Christian,  you  may  go  anywhere,  if  Jesus  would 
go,  there,  or  do  anything  that  Jesus  would 
approve  of  your  doing,  if  He  were  here  on 
the  earth  to-day.  A  Christian  need  not  be  a 
hermit  or  a  recluse.  Jesus  mingled  with 
society  in  Nazareth.  He  went  to  lend  addi- 
tional grace  to  a  wedding  in  Cana  of  Gali- 
lee. Go  to  any  right  place,  freely,  dear  girl, 
dear  boy,  if  Jesus  will  go  too. 


76  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

There  is  another  thought,  prompted  by  this 
story  of  Jesus  and  His  kindness  at  the  wedding. 
It  is  be  on  the  watch  always  to  do  what  Jesus 
bids  you  in  the  commonplace  scenes  of  life,  in 
the  schoolroom,  in  college,  in  your  mother's 
house,  in  your  father's  office,  wherever  you  are. 
Whatsoever  He  saith  to  you^  do  it.  Heed  the 
whatsoever.  Kever  mind  how  it  may  seem  to 
you.  Hear  and  obey.  If  the  servants  had 
refused  to  fill  the  water-pots  with  water, 
when  Jesus  told  them  to  do  so,  the  wedding 
feast  would  have  continued  to  want  wine. 
You  must  do  your  share.  Jesus  will  do  His. 
Heed  the  whatsoever.  Especially  in  the  little 
things ! 

Is  there  not  a  beautiful  meaning  in  this 
miracle,  one  that  we  find,  as  we  find  the  per- 
fume of  the  rose,  when  we  bend  close  to  its 
fragrant  cup  ?  We  may  so  use  our  com. 
monest  things  that  they  may  be  changed 
to  rarest  things,  so  hold  in  our  hand  life's 
chalice  of  water,  that  it  may  give  back  to  us  a 
glow  and  sparkle  beyond  our  utmost  hopes. 

Never  need  we  fear  any  failure  of  provision 
or  entertainment  if  Jesus  be  a  guest  or  a  com- 
panion on  the  road. 

"  "Wherever  He  may  guide  me 
No  want  shall  turn  me  back, 
My  Shepherd  is  beside  me, 
Aud  nothing  can  I  lack." 


Jesus  as  a  Wedding  Guest  77 

It  is  a  pleasant  glimpse  we  have  here  of  the 
home  life  of  our  dear  Lord.  Mary,  His  mother, 
was  to  have  deep  anguish  in  coming  days. 
But,  as  no  other  mother  ever  had,  she  had  joy 
in  her  beloved  Son.  Many  days  of  deepest 
happiness  were  hers  with  her  Child  of  Heaven, 
the  little  Child  who  never  did  wrong,  never 
hurt  her  feelings,  never  dimmed  her  home  sun- 
shine. Mothers  are  happy  when  children  are 
good  and  Jesus  was  always  good.  When  He 
grew  to  manhood.  He  still  made  His  mother 
happy. 

Probably  Jesus  was  never  ill.  We  find 
nowhere  in  the  story  of  His  life  any  word  that 
can  lead  us  to  suppose  that  He  ever  had  the 
slightest  taint  of  disease  in  His  perfect  body^ 
the  fitting  house  for  His  perfect  soul.  Other 
mothers  watch  by  their  children's  bed  of  pain 
and  fever,  and  are  agonized  by  their  chil- 
dren's moans.  Jesus  had  a  childhood  immune 
from  every  malady.  He  had  the  abounding  joy 
of  health.  In  His  manhood  He  could  endure 
more  fatigue  than  most  men,  and  though 
sometimes  weary,  He  was  never  once  laid  aside 
by  sickness.  So  His  mother  knew  the  delight 
of  having  her  Son  always  full  of  vigour  and 
athletic  strength  as  He  grew  into  youth. 

Then  followed  the  long  and  quiet  years  of 
peace  and  purity  and  of  loving  companionship, 
when  from  twelve  to  thirty  years  of  age  Jesus 


78  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

was  in  Mary's  home,  satisfying  every  desire  of 
her  heart,  the  best  Son  mother  ever  had.  We 
can  see  how  she  trusted  Him  from  the  swiftness 
with  which  she  turned  to  Him  at  the  wedding, 
when  they  wanted  wine,  and  the  dignity  of  her 
demeanour  to  the  servants  in  that  command, 
"  Whatsoever  He  saith  unto  you,  do  it." 

We  have  this  record  of  the  single  wedding 
feast  at  which  our  Saviour  wrought  a  miracle. 
But  I  have  not  a  doubt  that  He  went  often  to 
such  gatherings,  and  that  at  any  social  company 
in  ISTazareth  where  His  family  went.  He  went 
too.  He  was  not  too  busy  to  go  where  His 
mother  wished  His  company,  nor  was  He 
ashamed  to  be  seen  at  her  side. 


IX 

THE  SERMON  ON  THE  MOUNT 

On  a  green  rounding  hilltop,  with  jfields 
stretching  away  beyond  it,  bright  with  lilies 
in  bloom,  Jesus  sat,  and  His  disciples  gathered 
around  Him.  They  had  begun  to  call  Him 
Master,  and  they  listened  eagerly  when  He 
taught  them.  What  a  pleasure  it  must  have 
been  to  be  in  the  Master's  company  and  belong 
to  His  school !  How  easy  to  learn  the  lessons 
that  fell  from  His  lips  ! 

Yes,  we  think  this,  yet  the  lessons  were 
not  very  easy  for  some  of  those  learners,  nor 
are  they  very  easy  for  us.  Human  nature  is  the 
same  in  every  age  and  under  every  sky. 

Beyond  the  closely  clinging  inner  circle  of 
friends,  the  Master  saw  a  great  crowd  of  faces, 
the  faces  of  a  multitude.  His  words  were  so 
fascinating,  and  His  fame  had  gone  so  fast  and 
far  across  that  land,  that  people  wanted  to  see 
and  wanted  to  hear  and  could  not  stay  away 
from  Him. 

And  He  opened  His  mouth  and  taught  them 
saying, 

"  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit :  for  theirs  is 
the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
79 


8o  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  Blessed  are  they  that  mourn :  for  they  shall 
be  comforted. 

"  Blessed  are  the  meek :  for  they  shall  inherit 
the  earth. 

"  Blessed  are  they  which  do  hunger  and 
thirst  after  righteousness:  for  they  shall  be 
filled. 

"Blessed  are  the  merciful:  for  they  shall 
obtain  mercy. 

"  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart :  for  they 
shall  see  God. 

"  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers :  for  they 
shall  be  called  the  children  of  God. 

"  Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for 
righteousness'  sake :  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom 
of  heaven. 

"  Blessed  are  ye,  when  men  shall  revile  you, 
and  persecute  you,  and  shall  say  all  manner 
of  evil  against  you  falsely,  for  My  sake. 

"  Rejoice,  and  be  exceeding  glad  ;  for  great  is 
your  reward  in  heaven :  for  so  persecuted  they 
the  prophets  which  were  before  you." 

These  verses  are  called  "The  Beatitudes," 
the  texts  that  begin  with  "  Blessed." 

You  know  in  this  world  we  are  always  prais- 
ing the  haughty  and  arrogant  people  who  re- 
fuse to  let  themselves  be  imposed  or  trampled 
on.  "We  are  very  apt  to  consider  meek  and 
humble  people  as  rather  contemptible.  Not  so 
with  Jesus.     His  praise  was  given  to  the  poor 


The  Sermon  on  the  Mount         8l 

in  spirit,  and  to  the  meek.  He  set  a  very  high 
valuation  on  what  we  call  the  passive  virtues. 
The  Bible  specially  exalts  humility  from  first 
to  last,  and  we  are  warned  against  being  self- 
conceited.     The  meek  shall  inherit  the  earth. 

Blessed  are  they  that  mourn.  Why?  For 
they  shall  be  comforted.  To  be  comforted 
by  the  loving  hand  of  Jesus,  will  make  us  for- 
get our  sorrow.  Weeping  may  endure  for  a 
night,  but  joy  cometh  in  the  morning. 

Here  is  a  "  blessed "  we  may  enjoy,  if  we 
will.  They  who  hunger  and  thirst  after 
righteousness  shall  be  filled.  When  a  man  has 
been  very  long  without  food,  he  understands 
what  hunger  means.  When  he  has  travelled  in. 
the  hot  sun  without  a  drink  of  water,  he  knows 
what  thirst  is.  That  kind  of  insistent  hunger 
and  thirst  for  righteousness,  shall  be  satisfied. 

Men  sometimes  hunger  and  thirst  for 
power  and  preferment,  for  a  throne.  Alex- 
ander, Julius  Csesar,  and  Napoleon  thus  felt 
the  spur  of  a  devouring  ambition. 

In  ancient  days,  there  was  a  lad  who  was 
the  heir  to  a  kingdom.  The  choice  was  given 
him.     Here  is  the  story. 

"  In  that  night  did  God  appear  unto  Solomon, 
and  said  unto  him,  Ask  what  I  shall  give  thee. 

"And  Solomon  said  unto  God,  Thou  hast 
shewed  great  mercy  unto  David  my  father,  and 
hast  made  me  to  reign  in  his  stead. 


82  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  Now,  O  Lord  God,  let  Thy  promise  unto 
David  my  father,  be  established:  for  Thou 
hast  made  me  king  over  a  people  like  the  dust 
of  the  earth  in  multitude. 

"  Give  me  now  wisdom  and  knowledge,  that 
I  may  go  out  and  come  in  before  this  people : 
for  who  can  judge  this  Thy  people,  that  is  so 
great  ? 

"  And  God  said  unto  Solomon,  Because  this 
was  in  thine  heart,  and  thou  hast  not  asked 
riches,  wealth  or  honour,  nor  the  life  of  thine 
enemies,  neither  hast  thou  asked  long  life ; 
but  thou  hast  asked  wisdom  and  knowledge 
for  thyself,  that  thou  may  est  judge  My  people, 
over  whom  I  have  made  thee  king : 

"Wisdom  and  knowledge  is  granted  unto 
thee ;  and  I  will  give  thee  riches,  and  honour, 
such  as  none  of  the  kings  have  had  that  have 
been  before  thee,  neither  shall  there  any  after 
thee  have  the  like." 

Can  we  not  imitate  Solomon,  and  choose 
the  course  which  will  bring  us  the  Master's 
benediction  ? 

Of  all  the  beatitudes  the  one  I  like  best  is  this : 

"  Blessed  are  the  poor  in  heart :  for  they 
shall  see  God." 

Never  let  us  kneel  in  prayer  without  asking 
that  our  hearts  may  be  pure.  John  G.  Whit- 
tier,  writing  a  poem  for  a  child  who  had  been 
named  for  him,  said, 


The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  83 

"  I  pray  the  prayer  of  Plato  old, 

Grod  make  thee  beautiful  within. 
And  let  thine  eyes  the  good  behold 
In  everything  save  sin." 

David  the  sweet  singer  of  Israel  said,  "  Wash 
me  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow."  The 
thing  we  should  ask  for  is  to  keep  the  soul 
free  from  evil  thoughts,  to  keep  its  weapons 
from  rust,  to  be  pure  in  heart. 

In  the  introduction  to  "  The  Boy's  Froissart " 
Sidney  Lanier  writes : 

"  As  you  read  of  the  fair  knights  and  the 
foul  knights, — for  Froissart  tells  of  both, — it 
cannot  but  occur  to  you  that  somehow  it  seems 
harder  to  be  a  good  knight  nowadays  than  it 
was  then.  This  is  because  we  have  so  many 
more  ways  of  fighting  now  than  in  King  Ed- 
ward the  Third's  time.  A  good  deal  of  what 
is  really  combat  nowadays  is  not  called  com- 
bat. Many  struggles,  instead  of  taking  the 
form  of  sword  and  armour  will  present  them- 
selves to  you  after  a  few  years  in  the  follow- 
ing shapes :  the  strict  payment  of  debts ;  the 
utmost  delicacy  of  national  honour  ;  the  great- 
est openness  of  party  discussion,  and  the  most 
respectful  courtesy  towards  political  oppo- 
nents ;  the  purity  of  the  ballot-box  ;  the  sacred 
and  liberal  guaranty  of  all  rights  to  all  citi- 
zens ;  the  holiness  of  marriage ;  the  lofty  con- 
tempt for  what  is  small,  knowing  and  gossipy ; 


84  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

and  the  like.  Nevertheless  the  same  qualities 
which  made  a  manful  fighter  then  make  one 
now.  To  speak  the  very  truth ;  to  perform  a 
promise  to  the  uttermost ;  to  reverence  all 
women ;  to  maintain  right  and  honesty ;  to 
help  the  weak;  to  treat  high  and  low  with 
courtesy ;  to  be  constant  to  one  love ;  to  be 
fair  to  a  bitter  foe ;  to  despise  luxury ;  to  pre- 
serve simplicity,  modesty,  and  gentleness  in 
heart  and  bearing  ;  this  was  in  the  oath  of  the 
young  knight  who  took  the  stroke  upon  him 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  and  this  is  still  the 
way  to  win  love  and  glory  in  the  nineteenth." 

Yes,  and  in  the  twentieth,  and  in  all  time  to 
come. 

There  is  another  beatitude  that  is  not  very 
popular  I'm  afraid ;  it  is,  "  Blessed  are  the 
peacemakers." 

In  this  world  of  wars  and  tumults,  the 
peacemakers  are  often  discounted.  But  the 
Lord  looks  on  them  with  loving  favour.  They 
are  His  children.  When  you  can  reconcile 
two  persons  who  are  at  enmity,  you  may 
claim  this  reward  and  this  honour. 

The  sermon  on  the  mount  is  not  very  short, 
but  I  would  learn  it  by  heart,  if  I  were  you. 
I  committed  it  to  memory  in  my  childhood, 
and  its  beautiful  phrases  are  part  of  my 
treasures. 

"Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said. 


The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  85 

Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour,  and  hate  thine 
enemy. 

"  But  I  say  unto  you,  Love  your  enemies, 
bless  them  that  curse  you,  do  good  to  them 
that  hate  you,  and  pray  for  them  which  de- 
spitefuUy  use  you,  and  persecute  you  ; 

"  That  ye  may  be  the  children  of  your  Father 
which  is  in  heaven :  for  He  maketh  His  sun 
to  rise  on  the  evil  and  on  the  good,  and  send- 
eth  rain  on  the  just  and  on  the  unjust. 

"  For  if  ye  love  them  which  love  you,  what 
reward  have  ye?  do  not  even  the  publicans 
the  same  ? 

"  And  if  ye  salute  your  brethren  only,  what 
do  ye  more  than  others  ?  do  not  even  the  pub- 
licans so  ? 

"  Be  ye  therefore  perfect,  even  as  your 
Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect." 

In  the  course  of  this  address  our  Lord 
taught  His  disciples  the  prayer  we  all  daily 
repeat.  His  prayer,  beginning  "  Our  Father, 
who  art  in  Heaven."  He  told  us  that  we 
ought  not  to  worry.  Even  young  people,  like 
you  do  worry  many  times  when  they  should 
carry  their  burdens  to  the  dear  Lord  and  leave 
them  with  Him. 

"  No  man  can  serve  two  masters :  for  either 
he  will  hate  the  one,  and  love  the  other ;  or 
else  he  will  hold  to  the  one,  and  despise  the 
other.    Ye  cannot  serve  God  and  mammon. 


86  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  Therefore  I  say  unto  you,  Take  no  thought 
for  your  life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  or  what  ye 
shall  drink ;  nor  yet  for  your  body,  what  ye 
shall  put  on.  Is  not  the  life  more  than  meat, 
and  the  body  than  raiment  ? 

"  Behold  the  fowls  of  the  air :  for  they  sow 
not,  neither  do  they  reap,  nor  gather  into 
barns ;  yet  your  Heavenly  Father  feedeth 
them.     Are  ye  not  much  better  than  they  ? 

"  Which  of  you  by  taking  thought  can  add 
one  cubit  unto  his  stature  ?  And  why  take 
ye  thought  for  raiment  ?  Consider  the  lilies 
of  the  field,  how  they  grow ;  they  toil  not, 
neither  do  they  spin : 

"  And  yet  I  say  unto  you,  That  even  Solo- 
mon in  all  his  glory  was  not  arrayed  like  one 
of  these. 

"  Wherefore,  if  God  so  clothe  the  grass  of 
the  field,  which  to-day  is,  and  to-morrow  is 
cast  into  the  oven,  shall  He  not  much  more 
clothe  you,  O  ye  of  little  faith  ? 

"  Therefore,  take  no  thought  saying.  What 
shall  we  eat  ?  or,  Wherewithal  shall  we  be 
clothed  ? 

"  (For  after  all  these  things  do  the  Gentiles 
seek :)  for  your  Heavenly  Father  knoweth 
that  ye  have  need  of  all  these  things. 

"  But  seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God,  and 
His  righteousness  ;  and  all  these  things  shall 
be  added  unto  you. 


The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  87 

"  Take  therefore  no  thought  for  the  morrow ; 
for  the  morrow  shall  take  thought  for  the 
things  of  itself.  SuflB.cient  unto  the  day  is  the 
evil  thereof." 

Consider  the  lilies,  how  they  grow,  tall,  and 
straight  and  sweet  and  pure  and  brave.  Cast 
every  burden  on  the  Lord. 

Jesus  also  encouraged  us  to  pray  without  a 
single  doubt  of  God's  readiness  to  answer. 

"  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you ;  seek,  and 
ye  shall  find ;  knock,  and  it  shall  be  opened 
unto  you ; 

"  For  every  one  that  asketh  receiveth ;  and 
he  that  seeketh  findeth ;  and  to  him  that 
knocketh  it  shall  be  opened. 

"  Or  what  man  is  there  of  you,  whom  if  his 
son  ask  bread,  will  he  give  him  a  stone  ? 

"  Or  if  he  ask  a  fish,  will  he  give  him  a  ser- 
pent? 

"  If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give 
good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how  much  more 
shall  your  Father  which  is  in  heaven  give  good 
things  to  them  that  ask  Him  ? 

"  Therefore  all  things  whatsoever  ye  would 
that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to 
them  ;  for  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets." 

Dear  friends,  as  often  as  we  read  the  Gos- 
pel, we  may  see  Jesus  on  the  mountain-top,  in 
that  green  pulpit  out  of  doors,  and  hear  the 
wonderful  words  that  fell  from  His  lips. 


A  DAY  IN  JESUS'  LIFE 

Among  the  people  whom  Jesus  met  every 
day  there  were  many  who  were  ill  and  suffer- 
ing. Some  were  aflB^icted  by  evil  spirits. 
Terrible  demons  had  moved  into  their  bodies 
as  we  move  into  a  house,  and  had  kept  house 
therein.  You  may  imagine  what  an  awful 
thing  it  was  to  have  a  wicked  spirit  encamped 
in  the  soul.  It  made  the  person  what  we  now 
call  insane,  and  the  demon  on  the  rampage  in 
the  poor  torn  body  would  make  the  lips  utter 
bad  and  vile  words,  oaths  and  curses,  would 
make  the  arm  strike  cruel  blows,  or  would 
drive  the  victim  into  fits  of  foaming  fury. 
"When  our  Lord  was  here  in  the  world,  the 
demon-hosts  were  very  busy,  for  they  feared 
that  their  hour  of  dominion  would  soon  be 
over. 

Not  only  this  form  of  terrible  distress  was 
common,  but  another  dreadful  disease,  one 
that  doctors  could  not  cure,  raged  in  the  East. 
This  disease  still  exists,  and  is  still  a  plague 
that  all  men  shiver  and  shudder  at  in  extreme 
horror.  It  is  called  leprosy.  It  is  incurable 
as  of  old. 

88 


A  Day  in  Jesus'  Life  89 

You  know  that  in  the  Old  Testament  there 
is  a  beautiful  story  of  a  little  captive  maid  of 
the  Hebrews,  who  became  a  war-prize  of 
Naaman,  a  great  captain  of  the  Syrians.  The 
little  maid  waited  on  Naaman's  wife,  and  very 
sorry  she  was  when  she  found  out  that  her 
master  was  a  leper.  She  ventured  to  tell  her 
mistress  about  the  prophet  in  Israel  who  could 
cure  people  of  leprosy,  and  Naaman,  in  des- 
peration, went  to  the  prophet,  obeyed  his  di- 
rections, and  was  cured. 

Leprosy  was  never  cured  except  by  super- 
natural means.  Supernatural  is  that  which  is 
above  and  beyond  nature.  In  the  old  days,  a 
prophet's  word  and  a  prophet's  command  to 
dip  into  the  waters  of  Jordan,  drove  the  fear- 
ful disease  away.  In  Jesus'  day.  He  did  no 
more  wonderful  miracle,  than  again  and  again 
to  heal  the  leprosy. 

A  leper  might  live  a  great  many  years,  and 
all  the  years  he  would  be  very  slowly  dying, 
now  a  foot  dropping  off,  and  now  a  hand. 
The  malady  was  contagious,  and  lepers  were 
not  allowed  to  live  among  healthy  men  and 
women,  but  had  to  stay  off  by  themselves,  in 
places  where  other  lepers  lived.  They  stood 
afar  off  by  the  wayside,  with  cloths  over  their 
poor  faces,  and  in  their  hands  they  held  boxes 
attached  to  long  poles,  in  which  kind  people 
dropped  pence,  carefully  avoiding  so  much  as 


90  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

a  touch  of  the  boxes.  The  leper  was  obliged 
to  cry  in  a  loud  voice  Unclean !  Unclean !  so 
that  no  one  would  approach  him. 

Poor,  unsightly,  hopeless,  pain-racked  victims 
of  a  most  unhappy  fate,  the  lepers  were  types 
of  those  who  suffer  from  the  venomous  poison 
of  sin,  and  the  leprosy  was  a  type  of  sin  itself. 

Sin  is  as  a  rust  eating  into  the  very  fabric 
and  stuff  of  the  soul.  Only  One,  by  Divine 
power,  could  heal  the  leprosy,  and  only  One 
can  conquer  the  power  of  sin. 

Deaf  and  dumb  people  there  were  and  blind 
people,  many  of  the  latter,  in  Judea  when 
Jesus  was  there,  lame  people  too,  and  those 
who  suffered  from  burning  and  wasting  fevers. 
Jesus  went  everywhere,  casting  out  devils, 
opening  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  unstopping  the 
ears  of  the  deaf,  restoring  to  the  crippled  their 
power  to  walk,  and  making  the  fevered  suffer- 
ers well. 

As  Jesus  came  down  from  the  mountain  after 
preaching  the  beautiful  sermon,  He  was  met 
by  a  poor  leper,  who  worshipped  Him,  saying, 
"Lord,  if  Thou  wilt,  Thou  canst  make  me 
clean." 

Jesus  was  not  afraid  to  touch  the  leper.  He 
put  forth  His  hand  and  laid  it  very  softly  an 
instant  on  the  bowed  head,  or  the  beseeching 
hands,  then  He  said,  gently,  but  with  the  con- 
fidence of   a  king,  "  I   will,  be  thou  clean." 


A  Day  in  Jesus'  Life  91 

And  in  an  instant,  swiftly,  strangely,  the  vile 
malady  departed.  Immediately  the  man  was 
aware  that  he  was  well,  clean,  like  other  men 
once  more.     Jesus  had  made  him  whole. 

Jesus  told  the  man  to  go  to  the  temple,  and 
make  his  thank-offering  there,  and  commanded 
him  not  to  speak  of  what  had  happened. 
Jesus  sought  no  worldly  fame,  as  earthly  heal- 
ers do. 

Proceeding  on  His  way,  our  Lord  entered 
Capernaum,  a  village  perched  on  crags  steep 
enough  for  the  sport  of  goats  who  leaped  from 
cliff  to  cliff.  The  streets  of  Capernaum  were 
like  a  rocky  stairway,  and  the  roofs  of  one 
street  might  almost  compose  a  pavement  for 
the  street  above. 

As  Jesus  with  His  little  band  of  followers 
stepped  into  this  rock-bound  place,  a  fortress 
then  occupied  by  Eoman  soldiers,  there  met 
Him,  deeply  bending,  a  stately  man  in  uniform. 
This  was  no  Jew.  A  Roman  centurion,  a 
man  governing  with  absolute  authority  his 
company  of  a  hundred  disciplined  soldiers,  had 
beard  of  Jesus.  And  he  came  to  ask  that 
Jesus  would  in  great  compassion  heal,  not  a 
child,  nor  a  father  or  brother,  but  a  servant 
who  was  ill  with  the  palsy  and  grievously 
tormented.  The  centurion  must  have  had  a 
kind  heart  for  he  loved  this  slave  of  his  and 
sought  the  Master's  help  for  him. 


92  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  And  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  will  come  and 
heal  him. 

"  The  centurion  answered  and  said,  Lord,  I 
am  not  worthy  that  Thou  shouldest  come  under 
my  roof :  but  speak  the  word  only,  and  my 
servant  shall  be  healed. 

"  For  I  am  a  man  under  authority,  having 
soldiers  under  me  :  and  I  say  to  this  man.  Go, 
and  he  goeth ;  and  to  another,  Come,  and  he 
Cometh  ;  and  to  my  servant.  Do  this,  and  he 
doeth  it. 

"  When  Jesus  heard  it,  He  marvelled,  and 
said  to  them  that  followed,  Yerily  I  say  unto 
you,  I  have  not  found  so  great  faith,  no  not 
in  Israel. 

"  And  I  sa}''  unto  you,  That  many  shall  come 
from  the  east  and  west,  and  shall  sit  down 
with  Abraham,  and  Isaac  and  Jacob,  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven. 

"  But  the  children  of  the  kingdom  shall  be 
cast  out  into  outer  darkness :  there  shall  be 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth. 

"  And  Jesus  said  unto  the  centurion.  Go  thy 
way ;  and  as  thou  hast  believed,  so  be  it  done 
unto  thee.  And  his  servant  was  healed  in  the 
self -same  hour." 

The  Koman  centurion  and  his  poor  servant 
knew  the  power  of  Christ,  and  Christ  owned 
the  faith  of  the  one  and  relieved  the  need  of 
the  other. 


K 

m 

H 
Q 

Q 

Pi 

Q 
H 

O 

P 

o 


A  Day  in  Jesus'  Life  93 

Now  the  evening  shadows  lengthened. 
Peter  said,  "  Master,  you  have  done  nothing 
this  whole  long  day  but  make  sick  people  well. 
Come  into  my  house  now,  and  rest  awhile." 

But  when  they  reached  his  home,  no  doubt 
one  of  comfort,  for  Peter  was  a  thriving 
fisherman,  and  had  his  own  house  as  a  place  in 
which  he  could  entertain  his  friends,  they 
found  sickness  there.  Peter's  wife's  mother 
lay  sick  of  a  fever.  In  an  Oriental  home,  the 
oldest  woman  was  and  is  the  woman  most 
honoured  and  considered. 

"  Ah,  but  the  dear  mother  is  ill,"  I  can  hear 
the  daughter  saying,  "  and  oh !  my  husband, 
why  have  you  brought  a  guest  hither 
now  ?  " 

"  Peace,  woman,"  the  husband  would  say, 
"  the  guest  I  bring  is  not  like  other  guests. 
Take  Him  into  the  chamber  where  the  mother 
lies." 

"  And  He  touched  her  hand  and  the  fever 
left  her,  and  she  arose  and  ministered  to  them." 
She  became  at  once  the  gracious  hostess  and 
kind  house-mother.  No  matter  that  we  have 
looked  at  this  beautiful  picture  before.  We 
may  look  at  it  often. 

Night  fell,  and  the  narrow  street  was 
thronged  with  a  crowd  of  people,  bringing 
their  sick  to  be  healed,  "  that  it  might  be  ful- 
filled which  was  spoken  by  Esaias  the  prophet. 


94  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

saying,  Himself  took  our  infirmities  and  bare 
our  sicknesses." 
It  is  even  so  yet. 

"  The  healing  of  His  seamless  dress 
Is  by  our  beds  of  pain, 
We  touch  Him  in  life's  throng  and  press 
And  we  are  whole  again." 

At  last  Jesus  felt  that  He  must  move  a  little 
way  off  from  the  great  swarming  multitude, 
and  He  told  Peter  and  the  rest  to  get  ready  a 
boat  so  that  they  might  cross  to  the  other  side 
of  the  sea.  A  scribe,  a  man  of  learning  and 
intelligence,  came  to  Him  then,  saying, 

"Lord,  I  will  follow  Thee  whithersoever 
Thou  goest ! " 

And  Jesus  made  the  touching  answer,  the 
answer  of  a  poor  and  homeless  man,  "The 
foxes  have  holes  and  the  birds  of  the  air  have 
nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not  where  to 
lay  His  head." 

The  poorest  of  us,  has  a  home.  Jesus  was 
among  men  as  homeless  as  any  wanderer  who 
has  no  roof  under  which  he  may  claim  a 
shelter.  He  had  cut  loose  from  the  little  home 
in  Nazareth  where  Joseph  and  Mary  abode, 
and  started  out  on  His  great  world  work,  but 
He  was  a  prince  without  a  palace,  a  man  who 
owned  no  foot  of  ground,  nor  had  gold  in  any 
purse,  nor  grain  in  storehouse  or  barn.     Jesus 


A  Day  in  Jesus'  Life  95 

was  as  poor  as  the  poorest  tramp  who  has  no 
abiding-place,  yet  He  was  as  rich  as  heaven 
itself,  and  at  many  a  moment  angels  stooped 
to  wait  on  Him. 

"And  another  of  His  disciples  said  unto 
Him,  Lord,  suffer  me  first  to  go  and  bury  my 
father. 

"  But  Jesus  said  unto  him.  Follow  Me :  and 
let  the  dead  bury  their  dead." 

This  little  scene  rather  puzzled  me  when  I 
was  a  child,  but  the  meaning  is  simple.  Let  the 
dead  hury  their  dead  is  a  form  of  saying,  "  Life 
and  present  duty  come  first.  You  say  you  want 
to  follow  Me,  but  your  father  is  old  and  he 
needs  you  now,  and  you  can't  come  with  Me 
while  he  lives."  The  answer  is  that  you  will 
better  care  for  the  loved  one,  if  you  do  right 
now  and  follow  Jesus  in  the  way. 

A  great  many  of  us  make  one  or  another 
excuse,  rather  than  drop  everything  and  begin 
the  Christian  life  without  an  instant's  delay. 
"We  are  only  half  in  earnest,  and  Jesus  knows 
it. 

"  Act,  act  in  the  living  present. 
Let  the  dead  past  bury  its  dead. " 

Take   this   as    the   rule  for  the  Christian 

life. 

"  And  when  He  had  entered  into  a  ship,  His 
disciples  followed  Him. 


96  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  And  behold,  there  arose  a  great  tempest  in 
the  sea,  insomuch  that  the  ship  was  covered 
with  the  waves  :  but  He  was  asleep. 

"  And  His  disciples  came  to  Him,  and  awoke 
Him,  saying,  Lord  save  us :  we  perish. 

"  And  He  saith  unto  them,  Why  are  ye  fear- 
ful, O  ye  of  little  faith  ?  Then  He  arose  and 
rebuked  the  winds  and  the  sea ;  and  there  was 
a  great  calm. 

"  But  the  men  marvelled,  saying.  What  man- 
ner of  man  is  this,  that  even  the  winds  and  the 
sea  obey  Him !  " 

So  ended  one  day  in  the  life  of  Jesus,  a  busy 
day,  a  day  when  Nature  itself  in  its  winds  and 
waves,  owned  His  power  and  grew  silent  at 
His  voice.  Was  there  ever  a  day  of  greater 
absorption,  a  day  of  less  opportunity  for  re- 
pose in  any  human  life  ? 


XI 

THE  LAD  WITH  THE  LOAVES 

That  word  Tnultitude  so  often  repeated  con- 
veys to  my  mind  an  idea  of  crowds  surging 
upon  crowds,  as  when  in  summer,  one  stands  on 
the  shore  and  watches  the  breakers  rolling  in. 
"Wave  upon  wave  they  come,  and  far  out  on 
the  ocean  you  look  and  lo !  another  wave  is 
rushing  in  upon  the  land,  and  back  of  that 
another  rises,  and  behind  that  another,  the 
white  horses  of  the  sea.  So  was  it  with  the 
multitudes  who  followed  Christ. 

"  Come  ye  apart  to  a  desert  place,  and  rest 
awhile,"  Jesus  said  to  His  disciples.  A  desert 
or  lonely  place  might  be  a  green  or  flowery 
meadow ;  it  did  not  always  mean  a  barren 
waste,  but  it  did  mean  a  spot  of  retirement,  out 
of  the  noise  and  clamour  of  the  streets,  and 
away  from  the  bustle  of  the  markets  and  the 
homes  of  men. 

Young  people  sometimes  do  not  realize  it,  but 
every  life  must  have  its  silent  hours  or  it  will 
not  grow.  In  the  morning  and  the  evening  of 
each  day  we  have  urgent  need  of  a  little  while 
with  Jesus.  How  thoughtful  and  kind  of  the 
Master  to  go  with  His  disciples  when  they 
97 


98  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

were  tired,  not  to  send  them  away  from 
Him. 

There  was  always  a  boat  ready  when  it 
pleased  Jesus  to  wish  for  one,  and  with  the 
sail  spread,  it  would  carry  Him  and  His  friends 
swiftly  across  the  blue  waters  of  Galilee,  to  the 
pleasant  place  they  sought.  Around  the  curv- 
ing shores  they  floated,  and  drew  to  the  land. 
But  what  was  this  ?  What  meant  the  crowds 
waiting  to  welcome  them  when  they  stepped 
on  the  beach,  and  the  crowds  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  see  ?  What  had  happened  that  men, 
women  and  children,  by  twos,  by  threes,  by 
dozens,  were  patiently  awaiting  them,  or  com- 
ing into  view,  having  plodded  on  foot  around 
the  lake  ? 

The  desert  place  could  be  no  retreat  that 
day.  For  the  multitude  wanted  to  be  near  the 
Master.  Here  was  Hannah,  whose  fever  He 
had  rebuked.  Here  were  Nathan  and  Lemuel, 
to  whom  He  had  given  sight.  Here  was 
some  one  who  could  hear  after  long  deafness. 
Others  too,  Joseph,  Salome,  Kachel,  Joshua, 
men  and  women  unnamed  in  record,  but  present 
in  the  crowd,  each  with  a  personal  reason  to  get 
close  to  the  wonderful  Teacher,  each,  with  those 
who  were  in  some  need  of  help,  each  longing 
for  more  of  the  wisdom  and  comfort  His 
words  gave,  had  patiently  walked  the  miles 
around  the  lake,  and  found  the  place,  and  were 


The  Lad  With  the  Loaves  99 

here  to  receive   whatever  blessing  the  Lord 
would  bestow. 

Some  people  would  have  been  vexed  to  dis- 
cover that  they  could  not  secure  rest  and 
repose  when  they  so  desired  it.  Some  would 
have  been  angry  at  the  persistency  of  the  mul- 
titude. Not  so,  Jesus.  When  He  saw  the 
procession  coming  from  every  town  and  vil- 
lage till  the  crowd  was  like  a  cloud  of  locusts, 
He  was  filled  with  compassion.  They  seemed 
to  Him  as  sheep  that  had  no  shepherd. 

I  have  had  the  realization  of  the  crowds, 
densely  gathering  towards  one  centre,  and 
massing  there,  in  a  great  city  on  some  occasion 
when  there  was  a  vast  ceremonial,  or  a  func- 
tion in  honour  of  a  visiting  potentate  from 
abroad.  Sometimes  on  the  East  Side  of  New 
York,  on  a  Sabbath  afternoon,  the  moving 
throngs  of  people,  drifting  through  the  streets 
between  the  tall  houses,  have  made  me  think 
of  those  crowds,  that  multitude,  near  the  Sea 
of  Galilee,  in  the  days  when  our  Lord  was  on 
earth. 

He  was  sorry  for  them,  sorry  for  the  weary, 
footsore,  dusty,  hungry  men,  for  the  crying 
children,  for  the  mothers  who  sank  down  ex- 
hausted. 

The  disciples  were  sorry  too.  "  These  fool- 
ish people,"  they  said,  "  have  brought  no  food 
with  them.     The  day  is  far  spent,  the  night  is 


loo  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

at  hand.  Send  them  away,  Lord,  that  they 
may  buy  themselves  bread." 

"  They  need  not  depart,"  said  Jesus. 

The  disciples  could  not  believe  their  ears. 
The  next  words  nearly  paralyzed  them. 

"They  need  not  depart,"  was  amazing 
enough,  but  when  Jesus  calmly  said,  "  Give  ye 
them  to  eat,"  they  exclaimed  with  surprise ! 

How  should  the  twelve  feed  an  army? 
They  had  no  provision  except  a  very  slender 
one  for  themselves ;  surely  they  could  not  re- 
lieve the  hunger  of  even  a  few  on  the  edge  of 
the  crowd.  Nevertheless,  Jesus  spoke  with 
the  serenity  of  royalty,  "Give  ye  them  to 
eat." 

It  happened  that  there  was  a  lad  there,  an 
eager-eyed  bright  little  fellow,  who  had 
brought  with  him  more  than  he  required  for 
himself,  five  loaves  and  two  little  fishes.  For 
loaves,  substitute  biscuits,  these  loaves  were 
tiny,  not  large,  and  think  of  little  fishes,  like 
smoked  herrings  or  sardines. 

"  Make  the  people  sit  down,"  said  Jesus. 

They  sat  down,  in  orderly  waiting  compan- 
ies on  the  green  grass.  And  the  day  was  far 
spent.  The  sun  was  going  down.  The  shad- 
ows were  long  on  the  velvet  slopes.  There 
was  supper  to  be  served  by  the  sea,  abundant, 
excellent,  a  feast,  all  out  of  five  little  loaves 
and  two  little  fishes. 


The  Lad  With  the  Loaves        loi 

Jesus  looked  up  to  heaven  and  blessed  and 
brake,  and  gave  to  His  disciples,  and  they  gave 
to  the  multitude.  Never  again,  if  ever  you 
have  done  so,  begin  the  simplest  meal  without 
a  word  of  thanks  to  God  and  a  word  of  prayer 
for  His  blessing.  Jesus  said  grace  before 
meat.  He  brake,  and  brake,  and  still  in  His 
hands,  the  loaves  were  multiplied,  so  that  the 
supply  was  more  and  more.  As  Jesus  broke 
the  bread,  there  was  bread  enough  and  to 
spare,  the  very  fragments  of  that  supper  by 
the  sea,  filling  twelve  baskets,  one  apiece  for 
the  twelve  who  carried  to  the  multitude  what 
the  Master  divided. 

Precious  forever  is  the  memory  of  the  lad 
with  the  loaves. 

And  forever  precious  is  the  lesson  of  that 
hour.  "We  may  be  in  straits,  we  may  not  see 
a  step  before  us,  but  if  we  love  and  trust  Jesus, 
He  will  safely  bring  us  through,  and  feed  us  by 
the  way.  Not  to  assuage  His  own  hunger 
would  Christ  command  bread  to  be  made  from 
a  stone,  nor  did  He  change  the  pebbles  on  the 
strand  into  food.  He  took  the  bread  human 
hands  had  made,  and  human  hands  had 
brought,  and  of  it  He  made  a  rich  and  suffi- 
cient entertainment  for  a  multitude.  Five 
thousand  men,  besides  women  and  children, 
were  fed  in  that  twilight  hour,  from  five  little 
loaves. 


102  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"They  need  not  depart,  Give  ye  them  to 
eat."  Jesus  still  tells  us  this,  when  the  crowds 
are  near  us,  and  their  hunger  is  for  something 
more  needful  than  material  food.  If  we  begin 
with  the  little  we  have,  His  love  will  surely 
make  it  enough. 


XII 

THE  RAISING  OF  THE  RULER'S  DAUGHTER 

Many  a  time  in  those  beautiful  years,  Jesus 
raised  the  sick  from  their  beds  of  pain. 

Sometimes  friends  brought  those  who  were 
too  ill  to  walk,  carrying  them  for  miles  and 
miles  over  the  dusty  highway.  Jesus  would 
look  with  His  pitying  eyes  on  the  man  who 
was  lying  there,  pallid  and  gaunt  and  helpless, 
and  would  say,  "  Take  up  thy  bed,  and  walk. 
Son,  thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee." 

It  used  to  be  a  great  puzzle  to  me  how  a  man 
could  take  up  his  bed,  for  I  had  when  a  child,  the 
familiar  bedstead,  of  carved  wood  or  wrought 
metal  in  my  mind,  and  the  ponderous  springs 
and  the  mattress,  and  the  blankets  and  quilts 
and  pillows  before  my  thought.  But  I  learned 
after  awhile  that  an  Eastern  bed  was  a  very  sim- 
ple affair,  a  mere  rug,  that  could  be  rolled  up  and 
carried  away  by  any  able-bodied  person.  One 
word  from  the  lips  of  Jesus  made  the  weakest 
man  as  strong  as  he  had  ever  been  in  his  whole 
life.  Part  of  the  strength  too,  came  from  the 
blessedness  of  knowing  that  his  sin  was  for- 
given. 

103 


104         That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

To  a  man  who  knew  that  he  had  wandered 
far  away  from  God  and  purity,  who  had  lost 
the  approval  of  conscience,  and  fallen  into  a 
habit  of  doing  wrong  and  yielding  to  his  own 
will,  it  must  have  been  a  joyful  surprise,  to 
hear  that  his  sins  were  forgiven. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  whenever  Jesus  looked 
straight  at  such  a  man,  a  desire  for  pardon 
awoke  in  the  man's  soul,  and  there  came  to  him 
an  awakening,  a  vision  of  his  own  wretched 
state. 

In  the  Kevelation,  our  Lord  spoke  from  the 
skies  to  a  character  that  has  always  been  very 
common  in  the  world. 

"Because  thou  sayest  I  am  rich  and  in- 
creased with  goods,  and  have  need  of  nothing, 
and  knowest  not  that  thou  art  wretched,  and 
miserable  and  poor  and  blind  and  naked." 

Put  the  emphasis  on  the  two  words,  Icnowest 
not.  "When  our  Lord  gazed  on  any  one  of  the 
suffering  men  who  came  to  Him  for  healing, 
the  man  Icnew  his  sinfulness,  and  knew  his 
whole  past  unrolled  before  those  eyes  that  read 
the  soul  like  an  open  page.  His  whole  nature 
cried  out  for  pardon,  and  pardon  was  granted, 
and  then  followed  health  and  peace. 

Once  in  a  great  crowd,  when  everybody  was 
pushing  and  pressing,  and  there  was  not  room 
to  stir,  a  poor  woman  edged  through  the  midst 
of  it,  and  just  laid  one  timid  finger  on  the 


The  Raising  of  the  Ruler's  Daughter    105 

hem  of  Christ's  garment.  She  did  not  ask  to 
be  made  well,  though  she  had  long  been  very 
ill,  and  was  very  much  discouraged.  Doctors 
had  done  her  no  good,  and  she  had  spent  all 
her  money  in  trying  various  cures. 

Nobody  dreamed  that  Jesus  could  raise  the 
dead.  But  a  father's  love  rose  to  that  height 
of  faith,  and  leaped  to  a  certainty  that  Jesus 
might  break  the  frozen  sleep  of  death. 

"  Be  not  afraid,"  said  the  Master  to  His  men ; 
"  Only  believe." 

The  crowd  was  left  behind.  Jesus  went  to 
the  man's  house,  he  happened  to  be  a  ruler, 
taking  the  three  disciples  who  were  His  most 
intimate  friends,  Peter,  James  and  John.  Ac- 
cording to  Eastern  custom,  when  they  reached 
the  house,  they  heard  the  voices  of  those  who 
mourned,  a  wild,  wailing  noise,  that  sounded 
far  down  the  street. 

Jesus  hushed  this  wild  clamour  with  a  gentle 
word. 

"Why  do  you  weep  and  make  this  ado? 
The  damsel  is  not  dead,  but  only  asleep." 

At  this,  the  people  laughed  in  derision.  But 
Jesus  put  every  one  out,  except  the  father  and 
the  mother  of  the  little  maid,  and  with  them 
and  the  three  disciples.  He  entered  the  room, 
and  went  to  the  couch,  where  the  silent  figure 
lay. 

Perhaps  you  can  fancy  how  she  looked,  her 


io6  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

dark  eyes  shut,  the  long  lashes  lying  on  the 
death-white  cheeks,  the  dark  hair  parted  from 
the  white  brow,  the  little  hands  clasped. 

Jesus  advanced  and  stood  beside  her.  He 
took  one  little  cold  hand  in  His  own.  He 
spoke  and  the  room  was  hushed  in  its  awe  and 
suspense.  The  mother  knelt,  her  tears  flowing 
quietly.  The  father's  eyes  were  fixed  on  the 
Man  who  held  the  dominion  over  life  and 
death,  in  His  majestic  hands. 

"  Daughter,  I  say  unto  thee.  Arise."  Then 
an  amazing  thing  took  place. 

The  child,  about  twelve  years  old  she  was, 
opened  her  eyes  and  smiled  into  the  kind  face 
that  looked  upon  her.  Her  cold  hands  grew 
warm,  a  flush  crept  into  her  cheeks,  she  smiled 
at  her  father  and  mother.  She  stepped  from 
her  bed,  perfectly  well. 

About  this  time,  people  began  to  whisper  to 
each  other,  asking  what  mystery  was  here,  that 
a  young  man  who  had  made  chairs  and  tables 
in  a  carpenter's  shop  in  Nazareth,  whose  father 
and  mother  and  sisters  and  brothers  they 
knew,  should  be  doing  such  wonderful  works, 
and  speaking  such  wonderful  words. 

When  the  Sabbath  came,  and  as  His  custom 
was,  Jesus  entered  the  synagogue,  and  taught, 
they  did  not  heed  the  message,  for  they  were 
criticising  the  messenger.  God's  own  Son 
from  heaven  could  not  bless  human  hearts  that 


DAMSEL,  I  SAY  UNTO  THEE,  ARISE 


The  Raising  of  the  Ruler's  Daughter    107 

barred  their  door,  and  refused  to  listen  when 
He  spoke.  So,  their  unbelief  drove  Him 
away.  He  came  unto  His  own  and  His  own 
received  Him  not. 

They  were  offended  at  Him,  and  met  His 
gentle  teaching  with  scoffing,  forgetful  and  un- 
grateful that  they  were,  for  among  them  must 
have  been  those  whose  sick  He  had  healed,  and 
those  whose  hunger  He  had  fed  beside  the  sea. 
So  He  left  them  and  went  away  saying, 

"  A  prophet  is  not  without  honour,  but  in 
his  own  country,  and  among  his  own  kin  and 
in  his  own  house." 

Jesus  could  do  no  more  mighty  works  in 
Capernaum,  for  the  unbelief  of  the  people 
prevented  Him  from  exercising  His  power. 

Jesus  is  still  prevented  by  us,  in  the  same 
way.  He  says,  "  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door 
and  knock.  If  any  man  open  the  door,  I  will 
come  in  and  sup  with  him  and  he  with  Me." 

But  He  never  forces  Himself,  into  a  barred 
heart's  door,  against  the  heart's  will.  He 
knocks.    We  must  open. 

Do  not  let  us,  dear  reader,  act  like  those  fool- 
ish people  of  Capernaum.  Jesus  can  do  wonder- 
ful things  for  you  and  me,  if  we  will  let  Him  in. 

"  If  Jesus  came  to  earth  again, 

And  walked  and  talked  in  field  and  street, 
Who  would  not  lay  his  human  pain, 
Low  at  those  heavenly  feet  ?  " 


lo8  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

Ah !  dear  ones,  He  is  here,  now,  and  we 
may  go  to  Him  with  every  thought  and  every 
care. 


XIII 

WHEN  JESUS  WALKED  ON  THE  SEA 

Our  Lord  often  sent  His  disciples  away 
from  Him,  and  retired  into  a  mountain  apart 
to  pray. 

Sometimes  He  spent  whole  nights  on  the 
hills  in  prayer. 

We  think  of  prayer  as  asking  for  what  we 
want,  either  for  ourselves  or  others.  This  is 
one  kind  of  prayer  and  it  is  very  needful  for 
us,  but  it  is  not  the  only  kind  nor  the  highest 
kind.  There  is  a  sort  of  prayer  that  is  com- 
munion with  God,  that  leads  one  to  think  so 
much  about  God,  that  one  feels  very  near  and 
close  to  Him.  Jesus  communed  with  God.  I 
do  not  see  how  He  could  have  endured  all  the 
sadness  and  the  pain  of  living  among  wicked 
people,  and  the  giving  out  of  His  vital  power 
to  make  people  strong  and  well  as  He  did,  un- 
less He  daily  received  fresh  strength  from  His 
Father  in  Heaven. 

The  disciples  learned  to  know  the  look  in 
His  face,  when  He  left  them  and  went  away 
to  talk  with  God.  They  did  not  intrude  on 
those  hallowed  hours  when  Jesus  withdrew  to 
some  hillside  sanctuary  and  remained  there 
109 


no  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

for  hours  to  pray  to  God  and  commune  with 
heaven. 

One  day  He  had  tarried  long  in  the  deep 
green  forest,  and  night  had  fallen  and  yet  He 
had  not  returned.  At  last  He  came  down  to 
the  shore.  Away  off  in  the  middle  of  the  Sea 
of  Galilee,  He  saw  a  fishing-boat.  The  dis- 
ciples were  in  it  and  they  were  rowing  heavily 
against  wind  and  tide,  and  making  little  head- 
way. The  Sea  of  Galilee,  mountain-rimmed 
as  it  was,  had  its  fits  of  fury,  when  the  gales 
tossed  it,  and  the  waves  were  capped  with 
foam.  Out  there  on  the  sea,  the  disciples  had 
no  fear,  for  they  were  hardy  men,  used  to  the 
moods  of  their  sea,  but  they  longed  to  get  to 
the  shore,  for  they  thought  the  Master  would 
be  there,  waiting  for  them. 

Shall  we  read  the  story  as  Matthew  tells 
it? 

"And  straightway  Jesus  constrained  His 
disciples  to  get  into  a  ship,  and  to  go  before 
Him  unto  the  other  side,  while  He  sent  the 
multitude  away. 

"And  when  He  had  sent  the  multitude 
away.  He  went  up  into  a  mountain  apart  to 
pray :  and  when  the  evening  was  come.  He 
was  there  alone. 

"  But  the  ship  was  now  in  the  midst  of  the 
sea,  tossed  with  waves  :  for  the  wind  was  con- 
trary. 


When  Jesus  Walked  on  the  Sea    1 1 1 

"  And  in  the  fourth  watch  of  the  night  Jesus 
went  unto  them,  walking  on  the  sea. 

"  And  when  the  disciples  saw  Him  walking 
on  the  sea,  they  were  troubled,  saying,  It  is  a 
spirit ;  and  they  cried  out  for  fear. 

"  But  straightway  Jesus  spake  unto  them, 
saying,  Be  of  good  cheer;  it  is  I;  be  not 
afraid. 

"  And  Peter  answered  Him  and  said.  Lord, 
if  it  be  Thou,  bid  me  come  unto  Thee  on  the 
water, 

"And  He  said.  Come.  And  when  Peter 
was  come  down  out  of  the  ship  he  walked  on 
the  water,  to  go  to  Jesus. 

"  But  when  he  saw  the  wind  boisterous,  he 
was  afraid ;  and  beginning  to  sink,  he  cried, 
saying.  Lord,  save  me. 

"And  immediately  Jesus  stretched  forth 
His  hand,  and  caught  him,  and  said  unto  him, 
O  thou  of  little  faith,  wherefore  didst  thou 
doubt  ? 

*'  And  when  they  were  come  into  the  ship, 
the  wind  ceased. 

"  Then  they  that  were  in  the  ship  came  and 
worshipped  Him,  saying,  Of  a  truth  Thou  art 
the  Son  of  God." 

The  fourth  watch  of  the  night  would  be  to- 
wards morning,  just  the  time  when  tired  peo- 
ple are  most  tired,  and  fainting  people  most 
faint.      I    imagine    how    those    storm-tossed 


1 1 2  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old    - 

mariners  felt  when  they  saw  that  kingly 
figure  walking  the  billows  as  one  might  tread 
upon  a  smooth  floor.  They  were  much 
alarmed,  and  supposed  it  was  a  spirit  that 
came  gliding  over  the  waters.  But  Jesus 
spoke.  They  could  not  fear  when  they  heard 
Him  say,  "  Do  not  be  afraid.     It  is  I." 

A  child  is  never  afraid  if  it  hear  in  the  dark- 
ness its  father's  voice.  A  friend  has  no  terror 
when  a  friend  hails  him  on  a  gloomy  road. 

"  It  is  T,"  said  the  Master.  Then  in  that 
fishing-boat  there  was  joy  touched  with  won- 
der. 

"  Lord,"  cried  Peter  the  impetuous,  "  if  it  be 
Thou,  let  me  come  to  Thee  on  the  water." 

Had  not  Jesus  said,  "  Be  of  good  cheer.  It 
is  I.     Be  not  afraid." 

Peter  could  have  led  a  forlorn  hope  or 
stormed  a  garrison  at  those  words,  they  put 
such  courage  into  him.  He  waited  only  a  sec- 
ond and  Jesus  said,  "  Come ! " 

Peter  sprang  over  the  boat's  side  into  the 
boiling  depths,  and  bravely  started,  walking 
on  the  water,  to  go  to  Jesus.  And  if  he  had 
kept  his  gaze  on  Jesus,  and  had  not  looked  on 
the  plunging  waves,  nor  listened  to  the  whist- 
ling of  the  wind,  he  would  have  walked  on 
victoriously.  But  presently  Peter  lost  sight 
of  that  splendid  figure,  walking  so  calmly  to- 
wards the  ship,  lost  sight  of  all  but  himself,  a 


When  Jesus  Walked  on  the  Sea    113 

mere  waif  and  atom,  tossing  hither  and  yon- 
der on  the  waves,  and  he  was  afraid. 

Once  we  are  afraid,  we  begin  to  sink.  It 
does  not  make  much  difference  where  we  are, 
or  what  we  are  doing,  fear  makes  us  craven. 
The  faint-hearted  fly  before  the  enemy.  The 
man  who  is  afraid,  as  Peter  was,  because  he 
does  not  see  Jesus,  is  sure  to  sink. 

But  Peter  did  the  best  thing  to  be  done. 
He  called  in  a  loud  voice,  not  to  the  people  in 
the  boat,  but  to  the  Master  on  the  sea,  "  Lord, 
save  me !  I  perish  !  " 

The  cry  was  heard  and  answered.  Jesus 
stretched  forth  His  hand,  caught  Peter,  and 
said,  reproachfully,  "Oh,  thou  of  little  faith, 
wherefore  didst  thou  doubt  ?  " 

The  wind  ceased  when  they  were  in  the  ship, 
and  the  ship's  crew  worshipped  Jesus,  saying, 
"  Of  a  truth  Thou  are  the  Son  of  God  !  " 

Morning  dawned  in  a  flood  of  glory  as  they 
stood  in  the  land  of  Gennesaret,  and  for  Jesus 
it  was  another  busy  day.  Hundreds  sought 
Him  for  healing,  hundreds  tried  just  to  touch 
the  hem  of  His  garment,  and  He  turned  not 
one  away. 


XIV 
JESUS  AND  THE  SABBATH  DAY 

One  of  the  things  Jesus  did  on  the  Sab- 
bath day  was  to  go  to  church.  The  church 
He  attended  was  called  a  synagogue,  or  a  place 
of  meeting,  and  we  read  that  He  often  went 
into  the  pulpit,  took  the  book  of  the  law  from 
the  hands  of  the  minister,  and  explained  it 
Himself.  I  am  full  of  awe  when  I  think 
that  there  have  been  people  in  the  world  who 
have  sat  in  a  church  on  the  Lord's  day,  and 
heard  the  Lord  tell  in  His  own  clear  and  beau- 
tiful way  what  the  Heavenly  Father  wanted 
them  to  know  and  to  do. 

Yet,  though  to-day  you  and  I  may  not  see 
His  face,  nor  touch  His  hands,  nor  hasten  with 
reverent  faith  to  follow  Him  out  over  the  Gali- 
lee roads,  and  through  the  lilied  fields,  we  need 
never  enter  a  church  without  meeting  Him 
there.  He  is  present  in  reality  in  every  place 
where  Christians  gather  to  pray  and  to  praise. 

Jesus  did  not  think  it  right  to  profane  the 
Sabbath  day.  He  kept  it  holy.  God's  rest- 
day  was  very  precious  to  our  Master.  He  gave 
it  the  old  sweet  name,  hallowed  and  fragrant, 
114 


Jesus  and  the  Sabbath  Day        115 

the  name  given  it  in  the  garden  of  Eden  when 
the  Lord  rested  after  creating  the  world. 

I  like  the  name  Sabbath  for  the  Lord's  day 
very  much  better  than  I  like  Sunday.  The 
latter  with  Monday  and  Wednesday  and  Satur- 
day, has  a  heathen  origin,  and  the  Sun's  day, 
the  Moon's  day,  "Woden's  day,  Saturn's  day, 
all  recall  some  ancient  and  picturesque  myth- 
ology. But  the  Sabbath  is  the  Scripture  name, 
and  it  conveys  to  me  a  thought  of  silence  and 
of  melody,  of  grasses  waving  softly,  of  children 
studying  the  Bible,  of  homes  hushed  and  peace- 
ful. Henry  Ward  Beecher  used  to  say  that 
the  Sabbath  looked  different  from  other  days, 
that  it  had  a  cattle-on-a-thousand-hills  look  all 
its  own. 

Jesus  did  not  hesitate  to  perform  works  of 
loving  kindness  on  the  Sabbath.  When  He 
was  here  the  good  people  of  the  period  had 
grown  very  formal  in  their  piety,  and  they 
attached  too  much  importance  to  mere  outside 
ceremonies.  So,  when  Jesus  and  His  disciples 
were  walking  through  a  field  of  corn,  one  Sab- 
bath morning,  and  the  disciples  being  hungry, 
plucked  the  ears  of  corn  and  ate  them,  the 
strict  observers  of  the  law,  known  as  Pharisees, 
were  ready  to  find  fault.  They  had  long  been 
trying  to  find  fault  with  Jesus,  but  in  that  pure 
life  and  that  loving  speech  of  His,  they  could 
not  pick  a  single  flaw.     But  they  pounced  on 


Ii6  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

the  poor  disciples  crying,  "Why  do  ye  that 
which  is  not  lawful  to  do  on  the  Sabbath  ?  " 

"  And  Jesus  answering  them  said,  Have  ye 
not  read  so  much  as  this,  what  David  did,  when 
himself  was  an  hungered,  and  they  which  were 
with  him ; 

"  How  he  went  into  the  house  of  God,  and 
did  take  and  eat  the  shrewbread,  and  gave  also 
to  them  that  were  with  him ;  which  it  is  not 
lawful  to  eat  but  for  the  priests  alone  ? 

"  And  He  said  unto  them,  that  the  Son  of 
man  is  Lord  also  of  the  Sabbath." 

The  synagogue  was  very  full  that  day.  The 
men  sat  together,  chanting  the  psalms  and  re- 
sponses: the  women  were  by  themselves,  as 
they  are  now  in  a  Jewish  worshipping  as- 
sembly. Never  had  the  young  Teacher  been 
more  kingly,  never  had  His  voice  been  sweeter, 
nor  His  presence  more  full  of  power.  Yet 
those  who  were  gathered  there,  knew  that 
Jesus  had  worked  in  the  carpenter's  shop,  and 
that  His  brothers  and  sisters  were  plain  men 
and  women,  like  anybody  else,  none  of  them 
with  heaven's  light  on  their  faces,  as  this  Man 
had. 

"  In  the  shop  at  Nazareth 
Pungent  cedar  haunts  the  breath  ; 
'Tis  a  low  Eastern  room, 
Windowless,  touched  with  gloom. 
Workman's  bench,  and  simple  tools 


Jesus  and  the  Sabbath  Day        117 

Line  the  walls.     Chests  and  stools, 
Yoke  of  ox  and  shaft  of  plow 
Finished  by  the  Carpenter 
Lie  about  the  pavement  now. 

"  In  the  room  the  craftsman  stands 
Stands  and  reaches  out  His  bands. 
Let  the  shadows  veil  His  face 
If  you  must,  and  dimly  trace 
His  workman's  tunic,  girt  with  bauda 
At  His  waist.     But  His  hands, 
Let  the  light  play  on  them 
Marks  of  toil  lay  on  them. 
Paint  with  passion  and  with  care 
Every  old  scar  showing  there, 
Where  a  tool  slipped  and  hurt, 
Show  each  callous  ;  be  alert 
For  each  deep  line  of  toil. 
Show  the  soil 

Of  the  pitch,  and  the  strength 
Grip  of  helve  gives  at  length. 

"  When  night  comes  and  I  turn 
From  my  shop  where  I  earn 
Daily  bread,  let  me  see 
Those  hard  hands  ;  know  that  He 
Shared  my  lot,  every  bit ; 
Was  a  man,  every  whit. ' ' 

The  Man  who  taught  those  people  in  the 
synagogue  was  a  working  man,  a  man  who 
had  eaten  the  coarse  fare  of  the  poor,  and 
known  the  hard  lot  of  those  who  toil  all  their 
days.  The  hands  that  held  the  book  of  the 
law  before  the  hushed  assembly  had  held  axe 
and  saw  and  plane.    Since  then,  those  hands 


li8  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

had  taken  other  toil  and  grown  soft,  had  been 
laid  on  many  a  hot  cheek  and  fevered  brow. 
The  other  day  they  had  broken  five  little 
loaves,  piece  by  piece,  and  fed  five  thousand 
men.  Those  feet,  in  the  peasant's  sandals, 
had  trodden  mile  upon  mile,  and  always  on 
errands  of  mercy.  The  other  night  they  had 
walked  on  the  sea  as  on  a  floor. 

The  fame  of  Jesus  had  gone  far,  and  it  had 
begun  to  arouse  evil  passions,  envy,  jealousy, 
spite,  malice,  in  the  breasts  of  men  who  would 
never  be  famous.  Learned  men,  some  of 
them,  scribes,  who  knew  what  illiterate  men, 
who  had  never  gone  to  school  knew  nothing 
of :  Pharisees,  good  men,  pious  men,  but  alas  ! 
proud  of  their  goodness  and  puffed  up  over 
their  piety.  These  men  hated  and  suspected 
Jesus,  hated  Him  without  a  cause.  Beside 
His  spotless  purity  they  knew  their  garments 
were  stained,  and  resented  the  knowledge. 

They  began  to  watch  and  furtively  they 
cast  glances  at  the  Teacher,  and  at  one 
another.  They  hoped  He  would  soon  do 
something  which  would  give  them  the  handle 
against  Him  that  they  sought. 

In  the  synagogue  that  day  there  was  a  man 
who  had  a  withered  hand. 

Jesus  saw  that  man.  The  scribes  and 
Pharisees  saw  him  too.  They  watched  like 
wolves  scenting  their  prey,  hoping  that  Jesus 


Jesus  and  the  Sabbath  Day        119 

would  heal  the  poor  man  but  not  because 
they  pitied  him.  Jesus  knew  their  thoughts. 
Their  hearts  were  an  open  book  in  His  sight. 
He  reads  all  hearts  now  as  then.  Evermore 
we  may  look  up  to  Jesus,  and  say,  "  Thou 
God,  seest  me ! " 

To  the  man  with  the  withered  hand  Jesus 
spoke, 

"  Stretch  forth  thine  hand  ! " 

The  man  obeyed.  And  as  he  obeyed  health 
poured  into  the  helpless  arm,  it  was  instantly 
restored,  paralyzed  no  longer,  useless  no  longer : 
it  was  a  right  hand  with  the  right  hand's 
might  and  skill  and  strength  as  of  old:  a 
whole  hand,  like  its  fellow. 

"  Is  it  lawful,"  said  Jesus,  looking  round  at 
the  scowling  Pharisees,  "  to  do  good  or  to  do 
evil  on  the  Sabbath  day,  to  save  life  or  to 
destroy  it  ?  "    And  they  could  not  answer. 

Our  Lord  kept  holy  the  Sabbath.  So 
should  we  keep  it  holy.  On  the  Sabbath  He 
worshipped  His  Father  in  the  great  congrega- 
tion. So  should  we.  On  the  Sabbath  He 
studied  God's  Word,  all  of  the  Bible  He  had. 
We  have  a  larger  Bible  than  Christ  had.  On 
the  Sabbath  we  should  study  it  reverently. 
Jesus  healed  the  sick  on  the  Sabbath.  We 
may  visit  them  then. 

Another  instance  is  given  of  our  Lord's 
kindness  in  healing  a  woman  who  had  been  a 


120  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

sufferer  for  eighteen  years,  from  a  dreadful 
infirmity  which  bent  her  nearly  double.  She 
crept  about,  bowed  down  by  her  great  pain 
and  weakness. 

One  Sabbath  day  she  was  sitting  in  the 
synagogue.  I  suppose  she  had  gone  there 
without  the  least  expectation  that  a  great 
blessing  was  coming  to  her  that  day.  Eight- 
een long  years  had  so  burdened  her  in  soul 
and  body  that  she  had  forgotten  to  hope,  and 
forgotten  how  it  felt  to  be  well.  She  was  in 
a  good  place. 

Jesus  saw  her.  He  called  her  to  Him. 
Feebly  she  approached,  hardly  daring  to  lift 
her  eyes  to  that  benignant  face.  He  said, 
""Woman,  thou  art  loosed  from  thine  infirmity." 

"And  He  laid  His  hands  on  her  and  im- 
mediately she  was  made  straight,  and  glorified 
God." 

Here  too,  one  would  have  looked  for  great 
rejoicing  from  all  around.  On  the  contrary, 
the  ruler  of  the  synagogue  was  most  dis- 
pleased. He  exclaimed  with  indignation, 
"  There  are  six  days  when  men  ought  to  work. 
In  them  therefore  come  and  be  healed  and  not 
on  the  Sabbath  day." 

But  our  Lord  saw  that  the  man  was  not 
sincere,  that  he  was  a  hypocrite.  Hypocrite 
means  play-actor,  a  person  assuming  a  part 
that  is  not  genuine. 


Jesus  and  the  Sabbath  Day        121 

"The  Lord  answered  him  and  said,  Thou 
hypocrite,  doth  not  each  one  of  you  on  the 
Sabbath  loose  his  ox  or  his  ass  from  the  stall, 
and  lead  him  away  to  watering  ? 

"  And  ought  not  this  woman,  being  a 
daughter  of  Abraham,  whom  Satan  hath 
bound,  lo,  these  eighteen  years,  be  loosed 
from  this  bond  on  the  Sabbath  day  ? 

"And  when  He  had  said  these  things,  all 
His  adversaries  were  ashamed :  and  all  the 
people  rejoiced  for  all  the  glorious  things  that 
were  done  by  Him." 

You  must  have  seen  how  very  tenderly 
Christ  regarded  those  who  endured  physical 
pain.  If  ever  you  are  ill,  you  may  be  sure  that 
He  will  come  in  and  stay  with  jt'ou,  and  comfort 
you,  and  that  He  will  guide  the  physician  and 
nurse  who  are  caring  for  you  in  sickness.  So 
whether  you  recover  and  go  about  your  duties 
again,  or  instead,  go  home  to  the  land  where 
nobody  is  ever  ill,  all  will  be  right.  In 
heathen  lands,  the  missionary  physician  does 
the  sort  of  work  our  dear  Lord  did  in  minister- 
ing to  the  many  who  are  sick.  Some  of  our 
missionaries  treat,  as  the  Lord  did  when  here, 
great  crowds  of  helpless  patients,  attending  to 
thousands  of  sufferers  in  a  single  year,  to  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  in  a  lifetime. 

One  would  indeed  have  thought  that  every 
heart  in  those  assemblies  would  have  leaped 


122  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

for  joy  when  some  poor  cripple  stood  restored 
by  the  word  of  Jesus,  a  man  able  to  do  a  man's 
work,  where  he  had  been  dependent  on 
charity  ;  a  woman  again  useful  in  her  family. 

Alas !  hatred  makes  blind  eyes  and  deaf  ears 
and  hard  hearts.  They  were  not  glad.  They 
were  sorry.  Human  nature  is  very  deceitful. 
Jealousy  is  cruel  as  the  grave. 

About  this  time,  the  first  faint  muttering 
was  heard  of  that  tempest  of  furious  wrath 
that  fell  upon  the  Master,  farther  on  in  His 
earthly  life. 

The  common  people  clustered  around  Him 
and  gladly  heard  His  words.  But  the  scribes 
and  Pharisees,  and  the  priests  who  were  a 
class  by  themselves,  began  now  to  hold  aloof 
from  Christ,  to  lay  plans  to  entrap  Him. 

Calmly  He  walked  among  them,  aware  of 
the  evil  in  their  hearts,  never  afraid  of  them, 
doing  good  to  the  multitudes,  and  at  night 
communing  with  His  Father. 


XV 

JESUS  TRANSFIGURED 

If  you  should  ever  visit  the  Holy  Land,  you 
would  fix  your  eyes  upon  Mount  Hermon, 
standing  to-day  as  in  the  days  when  the 
Master  was  on  earth,  as  a  lofty  throne  among 
encircling  peaks.  No  mountain  in  the  world 
has  upon  it  the  seal  of  such  glory,  as  once,  on 
a  summer  day,  crowned  Mount  Hermon. 

Jesus  had  been  talking  very  earnestly  with 
His  disciples.  As  usual  He  had  performed 
miracles  of  healing.  For  the  second  time,  He 
had  fed  the  multitude  from  a  small  provision, 
dividing  seven  loaves  among  four  thousand 
people,  as  at  first  He  had  divided  five  loaves 
among  five  thousand.  Again  upon  the  eyes  of 
the  blind  He  had  laid  His  gentle  hands,  and 
the  blind  man,  looking  up  saw  the  trees  and 
fields  and  people  as  others  did  whose  sight 
had  never  failed.  Coming  out  with  His  dis- 
ciples, through  the  towns  of  Cesarea-Philippi, 
He  asked  them  what  report  they  heard  of 
Him  from  the  people  they  met.  They  an- 
swered, "  Some  think  that  you  are  John  the 
Baptist,  others  Elijah  returned  to  the  world, 
and  still  others  look  upon  you  as  one  of  the 
123 


124  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

old  prophets  come  back."  Then  He  said, 
"  But  tell  Me  what  you  think ;  you  who  are 
with  Me  all  the  time,  walking  about,  living 
with  Me,  hearing  My  words,  whom  do  you 
think  that  I  am  ?  " 

Peter,  who  was  always  the  first  to  speak, 
said  instantly,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ." 

At  this  time  Jesus  began  to  teach  His 
disciples  something  that  was  very  hard  for 
them  to  learn.  As  a  father  about  to  go  away 
on  a  journey  would  give  his  children  directions 
concerning  his  absence,  trying  to  fit  them  for 
the  new  responsibilities  that  must  be  theirs,  so 
Jesus  now  began  to  explain  to  the  disciples 
that  His  mission  to  the  world  could  not  be 
accomplished  until  He  had  suffered  many 
things  at  the  hands  of  wicked  men,  and  had 
been  rejected  by  the  elders  and  the  chief 
priests  and  scribes.  He  told  them  too,  in 
plain  words  that  He  would  be  put  to  death, 
and  that  after  three  days  He  would  rise  again 
from  the  dead.  Over  and  over,  as  teachers 
impress  lessons  on  the  minds  of  little  children, 
Jesus  told  His  disciples  these  things  about 
Himself. 

Everything  that  had  been  predicted  of  Jesus 
ages  before  He  came  to  the  world,  was  soon  to 
be  fulfilled.    Isaiah,  the  prophet,  had  said  of  Him, 

"  Who  hath  believed  our  report  ?  and  to 
whom  is  the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed  ? 


Jesus  Transfigured  125 

"For  He  shall  grow  up  before  Him  as  a 
tender  plant,  and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry 
ground  :  He  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness  :  and 
when  we  shall  see  Him,  there  is  no  beauty 
that  we  should  desire  Him. 

"  He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men :  a  man 
of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief  :  and  we 
hid  as  it  were  our  faces  from  Him :  He  was 
despised,  and  we  esteemed  Him  not. 

"Surely  He  hath  borne  our  griefs,  and 
carried  our  sorrows :  yet  we  did  esteem  Him 
stricken,  smitten  of  God  and  afflicted. 

"  But  He  was  wounded  for  our  trans- 
gressions. He  was  bruised  for  our  iniquities : 
the  chastisement  of  our  peace  was  upon  Him  ; 
an'd  with  His  stripes  we  are  healed. 

"  All  we  like  sheep  have  gone  astray ;  we 
have  turned  every  one  to  his  own  way ;  and 
the  Lord  hath  laid  on  Him  the  iniquity  of 
us  all. 

"He  was  oppressed,  and  He  was  afflicted, 
yet  He  opened  not  His  mouth  :  He  is  brought 
as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  be- 
fore her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  He  openeth  not 
His  mouth. 

"  He  was  taken  from  prison  and  from  judg- 
ment :  and  who  shall  declare  His  generation  ? 
for  He  was  cut  off  out  of  the  land  of  the  living ; 
for  the  transgression  of  my  people  was  He 
stricken. 


126  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  And  He  made  His  grave  with  the  wicked, 
and  with  the  rich  in  His  death ;  because  He 
had  done  no  violence,  neither  was  there  any 
deceit  in  His  mouth." 

The  disciples  were  incredulous,  for  they 
simply  could  not  understand  what  Jesus  meant, 
and  Peter  took  it  upon  himself  to  remonstrate 
with  the  Master,  telling  Him  that  He  ought 
not  to  speak  of  the  future  in  this  way.  But 
the  Lord  looked  reproachfully  at  these  friends 
who  did  not  accept  His  words,  and  sternly 
rebuked  Peter. 

Then  calling  together  the  people  and  His 
disciples.  He  said  to  them, 

"  Whosoever  will  come  after  Me,  let  him 
deny  himself,  take  up  his  cross,  and  follow  Me. 

"  For  whosoever  shall  save  his  life  shall  lose 
it ;  but  whosoever  shall  lose  his  life  for  My  sake 
and  the  gospel's,  the  same  shall  save  it. 

"  For  what  shall  it  profit  a  man,  if  he  gain 
the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soul  ? 

"  Or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for 
his  soul  ? 

"  Whosoever  therefore  shall  be  ashamed  of 
Me  and  of  My  words  in  this  adulterous  and 
sinful  generation,  of  him  also  shall  the  Son  of 
Man  be  ashamed,  when  He  cometh  in  the 
glory  of  His  Father  with  the  holy  angels." 

These  words  of  Jesus  mean  to  us  just  as 
much  as  they  did  to  those  who  first  heard 


Jesus  Transfigured  127 

them.  If  we  would  follow  Christ  we  must 
deny  ourselves,  and  be  ready  to  take  up  our 
cross  and  walk  in  the  narrow  path  that  He 
marks  out.  Some  of  us  like  to  wear  a  golden 
cross,  some  of  us  have  in  our  rooms  the  emblem 
of  the  cross,  garlanded  with  flowers.  But  the 
real  cross  we  carry  for  Jesus  is  not  one  we  dis- 
play. It  is  a  cross  of  daily  self-denial,  of  do- 
ing things  we  do  not  like  to  do,  of  bearing 
with  people  who  are  unkind,  of  overcoming 
our  cowardice,  and  of  showing  forth  Christ's 
love  in  a  world  that  does  not  love  Him. 

It  is  sometimes  a  cross  for  a  young  girl  or  a 
lad  to  stand  up  before  a  congregation  and  be- 
come a  member  of  the  church.  I  have  often 
heard  young  people  say  that  they  can  be 
Christ's  without  doing  this,  yet  this  is  the 
simplest  way  in  which  they  can  let  others 
around  them  know  that  they  belong  to  Jesus, 
and  are  His  disciples. 

It  is  quite  worth  while  for  every  one  of  us 
to  ask  ourselves,  "  What  shall  it  profit  us  if  we 
gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  our  own  soul  ?  " 

It  was  six  days  after  this  little  sermon  that 
Jesus,  looking  up  to  Mount  Hermon,  asked 
Peter,  James  and  John,  the  three  who  were 
nearest  to  Him  in  friendly  intimacy,  to  climb 
its  steeps  with  Him.  They  went  up  into  this 
high  mountain  apart  by  themselves,  the  Master 
leading  the  way,  the  three  disciples  following. 


128  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

There  the  most  wonderful  incident  that  had 
ever  taken  place  in  human  history  was  wit- 
nessed by  these  three  fishermen  of  Galilee. 
Their  Master  standing  before  them,  put  on  the 
majesty  that  He  wears  to-day  as  He  sits  at  the 
right  hand  of  God.  His  raiment  became 
white  and  shining,  dazzling  as  the  snow  when 
the  sun  falls  on  it ;  whiter  than  any  whiteness 
ever  seen  on  earth. 

As  the  three  disciples  gazed  spellbound,  they 
saw  that  their  Master  was  not  alone.  Stand- 
ing beside  Him  on  the  mountain's  brow  were 
the  two  greatest  prophets  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, the  two  whom  Israel  most  revered, 
Moses  the  great  lawgiver,  and  Elijah  the  great 
reformer  of  the  ancient  days. 

You  remember  that  when  Moses  died,  he 
breathed  his  last  breath  in  sight  of  the  prom- 
ised land,  into  which  he  did  not  enter,  with 
only  the  Lord  Himself  to  smooth  the  dying 
pillow. 

"On  Nebo's  lonely  mountain, 
On  this  side  Jordan's  wave, 
In  a  vale  of  the  land  of  Moab 
There  lies  a  lonely  grave. 
And  no  man  dug  that  sepulchre ; 
And  no  man  saw  it  e'er. 
For  the  angels  of  God  upturned  the  sod, 
And  laid  the  dead  man  there. ' ' 

Elijah  had  been  caught  up  to  heaven  in  a 


Jesus  Transfigured  129 

chariot  of  fire  in  the  sight  of  Elisha,  his  pupil 
and  friend,  on  whom  his  mantle  had  fallen. 
These  two  men  for  many  ages  had  been  living 
in  heaven,  and  to-day  they  returned  for  a  brief 
space  to  the  earth  they  had  left,  that  they 
might  talk  with  Jesus  about  what  He  was  do- 
ing here  in  the  world,  and  what  He  meant  to 
do  before  He  left  it  and  came  back  to  them  in 
heaven.  The  scene  is  very  comforting  to  us 
when  we  think  how  our  dear  ones  pass  out  of 
our  sight  into  the  eternal  home.  They  go  as 
they  might  go  into  another  room  with  only  a 
door  between  us  and  them,  a  door  that  God's 
finger  could  easily  open  if  He  chose  to  set  it 
ajar.  They  talked  with  Jesus,  these  two,  who 
had  come  from  heaven,  and  He  talked  with 
them,  while  a  little  way  off  the  three  disciples 
in  dumb  amazement  stood  and  looked  on  at 
the  strange  meeting. 

Saint  Paul  speaks  of  the  whole  family  in 
heaven  and  on  earth,  and  here  on  Hermon  is 
an  illustration  for  us  of  a  family  meeting; 
some  from  that  world,  some  stiU  in  this,  all  on 
the  same  mountain-top. 

Again  Peter  was  the  one  first  to  speak,  and 
he  exclaimed,  addressing  Jesus,  "  Master,  it  is 
good  for  us  to  be  here,  so  let  us  make  three 
tents ;  one  for  Thee,  one  for  Moses,  and  one 
for  Elijah."  No  one  seems  to  have  paid  atten- 
tion to  this  request  of  his,  which  must  have 


130  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

sounded  very  much  as  a  child's  comment 
thrown  into  the  conversation  of  older  people. 
Even  as  Peter  spoke  there  came  a  cloud  from 
heaven  which  wrapped  itself  around  the  mys- 
tic three,  shuttiDg  them  from  the  sight  of  the 
trio  of  disciples,  and  out  of  the  cloud  came  a 
clear  voice  saying,  "  This  is  My  beloved  Son  ; 
hear  Him."  The  cloud  lifted,  the  disciples 
looked  round  about,  but  no  one  was  there  any 
more  except  Jesus  with  themselves.  As  they 
went  down  the  mountain.  He  told  them  that 
this  event  had  been  witnessed  by  them,  but 
that  they  were  not  to  speak  of  it  to  others, 
but  to  remember  it  until  the  Son  of  Man 
should  have  risen  from  the  dead. 

It  often  happens  in  our  experience  that  when 
we  are  on  some  mountain-top  of  great  gladness, 
we  suddenly  plunge  from  it  into  a  depth  of 
deep  grief.  There  are  people  who  foolishly 
distrust  a  very  bright  day,  or  a  prosperous 
gale,  so  sure  are  they  that  its  opposite  in  wind 
or  storm  is  marching  quickly  to  meet  them. 
This  time  when  the  disciples  still  in  the  exal- 
tation they  had  felt  on  Hermon,  stepped  down 
its  lower  levels  to  the  plain  at  its  foot,  the 
Master  in  the  midst,  they  found  a  great  con- 
fused multitude  there,  many  of  whom  ran 
with  joy  to  Jesus  when  they  saw  Him.  In 
the  midst  of  this  multitude  was  a  poor  youth, 
torn  by  a  wicked  demon,  and  the  father  had 


THEY  SAW  NO  MAN,  BUT  JESUS  ONLY 


Jesus  Transfigured  131 

brought  him  to  Christ's  disciples  who  had 
been  trying  to  cast  out  the  vile  spirit.  But 
they  had  not  been  able  to  do  so.  The  poor 
father  said  to  the  Lord,  "  If  Thou  canst  do 
anything,  have  compassion  on  us,  and  help 
us." 

Jesus  said,  "  If  thou  canst  believe,  all  things 
are  possible  to  him  that  believeth."  At  once 
the  father  cried  out  with  tears,  "  Lord,  I  be- 
lieve; help  Thou  mine  unbelief."  At  this 
Jesus  charged  the  evil  spirit  to  come  out  of 
the  boy,  and  with  one  last  struggle,  the  spirit 
did  so,  leaving  the  lad  lying  on  the  ground  as 
if  dead.  Jesus  lifted  him  up,  and  he  arose 
and  went  home  with  his  father. 

From  this  time  our  Lord  constantly  repeated 
in  the  ears  of  the  disciples,  the  tale  of  the  fu- 
ture. Over  and  over  again  He  said,  "  The  Son 
of  Man  is  delivered  into  the  hands  of  men,  and 
they  shall  kill  Him,  and  after  that  He  is  killed, 
He  shall  rise  the  third  day." 

One  feels  surprised  that  in  the  face  of  such 
teaching  as  this,  Jesus  coming  back  to  Caper- 
naum should  ask  His  disciples  what  subject 
they  had  been  discussing  by  the  way,  and 
they  should  have  to  tell  Him,  that  they  were 
trying  to  settle  which  of  them  should  be  the 
greatest  in  His  kingdom.  I  think  He  must 
have  sighed  when  He  said  to  them,  "  If  any 
man  desire  to  be  first,  the  same  shall  be  last 


132  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

of  all,  and  servant  of  all."  Then  He  took  a 
child  and  set  him  in  the  midst  of  them,  and 
lifting  the  little  one  in  His  arms  said,  "  Who- 
soever shall  receive  one  such  child  in  My 
Name,  receiveth  Me." 

This  was  Christ's  beautiful  lesson  of  humility 
and  love. 

At  another  time  our  Master  gave  His  friends 
a  still  more  striking  object  lesson  in  humility. 
In  eastern  lands  where  men  wear  sandals, 
they  must  bathe  their  feet  to  free  them  from 
the  dust  of  the  road  when  they  enter  a  house. 
A  servant's  office  is  frequentlj''  this,  to  wash 
the  feet  of  his  master  and  his  master's  guests. 
On  one  occasion,  Jesus  took  a  basin  of  water, 
and  a  towel,  and  washed  the  feet  of  His  dis- 
ciples. Peter  remonstrated,  but  Jesus  said, 
"  If  I  wash  thee  not,  thou  hast  no  part  in  Me." 

Then  He  said,  "  If  I,  your  Lord  and  Master 
have  stooped  to  this  lowly  service,  and  have 
washed  your  feet,  ought  you  to  be  proud  and 
haughty,  ought  you  to  refuse  to  do  anything 
that  love  may  bid  you  do  for  one  another  ?  " 

Jesus  always  set  the  crown  on  humility. 


SUFFER  THE   LITTLE   ONES   TO   COME   UNTO   ME 


XVI 

SUFFER  THE  LITTLE  CHILDREN  TO  COME 
UNTO  ME 

Our  Lord  was,  you  may  be  sure,  never  one 
of  those  cross  looking  people  who  frighten 
children  away.  Children  came  to  Him  with 
confidence,  and  mothers  were  anxious  to  have 
their  little  ones  receive  His  blessing. 

One  day  when  Jesus  was  walking  with  His 
disciples,  a  group  of  women  surrounded  Him, 
some  with  babes  in  their  arms,  others  with 
small  children  tugging  at  their  skirts  and  tod- 
dling beside  them  on  the  road.  I  can  see  the 
dark-eyed,  sweet-faced  little  ones,  and  the 
eager,  wistful  mothers,  pressing  closely  about 
the  Nazarene. 

The  disciples  thought  this  incursion  of 
women  and  children  on  the  time  and  attention 
of  their  Master,  a  piece  of  great  folly,  and 
they  spoke  sternly  to  the  mothers,  saying, 
"  Take  these  children  away.  We  have  no  time 
to  spend  on  you  or  them."  Jesus  did  not  say 
this.  He  rebuked  His  disciples,  and  said, 
"  Suffer  the  little  children  to  come  unto  Me, 
and  forbid  them  not,  for  of  such  is  the  king- 
133 


134         That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

dom  of  heaven ! "     And  into  His  own  kind 
arms,  He  took  the  little  ones  and  blessed  them. 

"  I  think  -when  I  read  that  sweet  story  of  old 
When  Jesus  was  here  among  men, 
How  He  called  little  children  like  lambs  to  His  fold, 
I  should  like  to  have  been  with  Him  then. 

"  I  wish  that  His  hands  had  been  placed  on  my  head, 
That  His  arms  had  been  thrown  around  me, 
And  that  I  might  have  heard  His  kind  voice  when  He  said, 
Let  the  little  ones  come  unto  Me." 

"  Yerily,  I  say  unto  you,"  said  Jesus,  "  Who- 
soever shall  not  receive  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
as  a  little  child  shall  in  no  wise  enter  therein." 

What  are  the  characteristics  which  Jesus 
loved  in  children,  and  why  did  He  say  that 
they  were  nearer  the  kingdom  of  heaven  than 
older  people  who  have  lost  the  child-heart? 
For  one  thing,  little  children  are  trustful. 
They  believe  what  their  parents  and  teachers 
say,  and  their  little  minds  drink  in  knowledge, 
as  the  flower-cups  catch  the  dew  and  rain. 
They  are  obedient.  Their  part  in  life  is  not 
to  give  orders,  but  to  do  as  they  are  told. 
The  sweetest  and  dearest  little  children  are 
those  Avho  love  to  obey  in  school  and  at  home. 
Children  have  nothing  to  worry  about.  They 
have  daily  bread,  and  daily  duties  and  plenty 
of  time  to  play  and  clothes  to  wear.  In  the 
morning  they  begin  a  beautiful  new  day.    At 


Suffer  the  Little  Children  135 

night  they  are  tucked  up  safe  in  bed  and  the 
day  ends  with  a  mother's  kiss.     They  say, 

"  Now  I  wake  and  see  the  light 
'Tis  God  who  kept  me  through  the  night, 
To  Him  I  lift  my  voice  and  pray 
That  He  would  keep  me  through  the  day," 

and  in  the  evening  this  is  their  little  prayer, 

' '  Now  I  lay  me  down  to  sleep 
I  pray  the  Lord  my  soul  to  keep. 
If  I  should  die  before  I  wake, 
I  pray  the  Lord  my  aoul  to  take." 

They  early  learn  the  prayer  our  Lord  taught 
His  disciples, 

"Our  Father,  who  art  in  Heaven 
Hallowed  be  Thy  Name. 
Thy  Kingdom  come, 

Thy  Will  be  done  in  earth  as  it  is  in  Heaven. 
Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread,  and 
Forgive  us  our  debts  as  we  forgive  our  debtors. 
Lead  us  not  into  temptation  and  deliver  us  from  evil 
For  Thine  is  the  Kingdom,  the  power  and  the  glory, 
Forever,  Amen." 

Our  blessed  Lord  might  have  come  to  this 
earth  of  ours  as  a  Prince  with  a  vast  retinue, 
as  a  General  leading  an  army,  as  a  Statesman 
to  whom  all  bowed  down.  But  instead,  He 
put  great  honour  on  childhood  when  He  came 
as  an  Infant,  helpless  as  any  other  little  one  in 


136  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

a  mother's  arms.  All  through  His  early- 
years,  He  was  a  loving  and  obedient  Child,  a 
pattern  for  all  children  in  the  wide  world 
until  time  shall  be  no  more. 

Children  are  pleased  with  little  things. 
Grown  up  people  may  be  dissatisfied  and 
captious  because  their  plans  go  wrong,  but 
children  live  in  a  beautiful  land  where  grains 
of  yellow  sand  are  better  than  golden  coins, 
and  flowers  in  a  daisied  meadow  are  worth 
more  than  the  treasures  men  most  prize. 
Blessed  beyond  all  others  are  the  men  and 
women  who  keep  to  the  end  of  life  the  sweet 
and  trustful  spirit  of  childhood. 

Jesus  once  said  to  His  disciples,  "  The  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  within  you."  I  think  we 
do  not  understand  this  fully  until  life  has 
taught  us  some  of  its  lessons.  But  let  me  ex- 
plain to  young  people  that  they  have  only  to 
remember  certain  days  when  they  were  out  of 
tune  with  every  one,  and  certain  other  days 
when  their  aim  was  to  make  every  one  happy, 
to  know  precisely  what  our  Saviour  meant. 
Let  us  believe  that  we  have  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  within  us,  and  say  daily  with  the  chil- 
dren, 

"  Jesus  loves  me,  this  I  know 
For  the  Bible  tells  me  so." 

The  consciousness  of  belonging  to  Jesus 
brings  heaven  into  every  heart. 


Suffer  the  Little  Children  137 

To  go  a  step  farther.  Suppose  that  day  by- 
day  we  stop  at  intervals,  and  send  a  prayer  up 
to  the  Lord  for  heavenly  calm  amid  agitations. 
You  and  I  might  say,  "  What  would  Jesus  do 
if  He  were  here  ?  "What  would  He  wish  me 
to  do,  to  be  ?  "  Younger  or  older,  let  us  be  as 
children  in  His  service. 

Jesus  is  still  extending  His  arms  to  encircle 
you.  He  still  says,  "  Suffer  the  little  children 
to  come  unto  Me,  and  forbid  them  not,  for  of 
such  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 

And  still  the  most  blessed  of  all  people, 
even  if  they  have  silver  hair,  are  those  who 
have  kept  the  child-heart  in  touch  with  Jesus, 
through  the  years. 

Here  is  another  thought  for  you.  Jesus 
blessed  each  little  child.  He  does  not  look  at 
you  as  if  you  were  a  stranger.  He  knows 
who  you  are,  and  where  you  live,  and  what 
your  name  is.  When  you  have  had  a  hard 
time  over  your  lessons,  and  have  been  dis- 
couraged, it  is  worth  while  to  tell  Him. 
When  you  have  made  a  mistake,  when  you 
have  had  a  disappointment,  tell  Jesus.  The 
greatest  wisdom  in  the  world  is  to  tell  Jesus 
everything. 

Begin  serving  Him  while  you  are  a  child, 
and  do  not  wait  until  you  are  grown  up  be- 
fore you  join  Christ's  Church.  There  is  room 
at  His  table  for  you.     There  is  room  in  His 


138  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

heart  for  you.  "  Feed  My  lambs  "  He  said  to 
Peter,  and  "  feed  My  lambs  "  He  says  to  His 
servants  now. 

It  is  very  comforting  for  us  to  remember 
that  Jesus  showed  His  great  tenderness  to  and 
regard  for  childhood. 

After  He  had  been  transfigured  upon  the 
mount,  and  when  He  was  facing  day  by  da}'' 
the  coming  of  the  time  when  He  should  go  to 
Calvary,  after  He  had  blessed  the  children 
and  was  going  on  His  way,  a  young  man 
came  running  to  Him  and  kneeling  before  Him 
said,  "  Good  Master,  what  shall  I  do  that  I 
may  inherit  eternal  life  ?  "  Jesus  said,  "  "Why 
callest  thou  Me  good  ?  There  is  but  one  good ; 
that  is  God.  Thou  knowest  the  command- 
ments." The  young  man  said,  "  Master,  all 
these  commandments  have  I  observed  from 
my  youth." 

We  are  told  that  Jesus  looking  on  him,  loved 
him.  He  looked  into  his  heart,  as  He  did  into 
all  hearts,  and  there  He  saw  that  there  was 
one  thing  of  which  this  young  man  was  mak- 
ing an  idol,  one  thing  that  came  between  him 
and  eternal  life.  The  young  man  was  very 
rich,  and  took  great  pride  in  his  possessions 
and  estates. 

Jesus  said,  "Although  you  have  kept  the 
commandments  and  been  just,  and  although 
you  have  done  what  you  thought  was  your 


Suffer  the  Little  Children  139 

duty,  there  is  one  thing  yet  to  do  ;  go  and  sell 
what  you  have  and  give  to  the  poor.  Instead 
of  earthly  treasures  you  shall  have  treasure  in 
heaven.  Go  take  up  the  cross  and  follow  Me." 
But  the  young  man  did  not  want  to  do  this, 
and  so  he  lost  all  chance  of  the  kingdom,  and 
went  back  to  the  things  of  the  world,  and  did 
not  follow  Jesus  in  the  way. 


XVII 

JESUS  OF  NAZARETH  PASSETH  BY 

Jesus  of  Nazareth  !  He  was  passing  by  a 
little  town  called  IS'ain  one  day,  and  there  met 
Him  a  very  mournful  procession.  A  few 
friends  walking  beside  a  bier,  on  which  lay  the 
body  of  a  young  man,  the  only  son  of  his 
mother,  and  she  was  a  widow.  Blinded  with 
tears,  covered  from  head  to  foot  by  her  thick 
veil,  the  desolate  mother  tottered  along  the 
path.  If  only  she  too  could  die  and  be  laid  in 
the  tomb  beside  her  boy !  Heart-broken  she 
groped  along. 

The  little  procession,  accompanied  by  the 
mourners,  weeping  and  wailing,  emerged  from 
the  city  gate.  But  a  kingly  stranger  arrested 
its  progress.  "  Halt !  "  cried  a  voice  that  none 
ever  heard  without  heeding.  They  who 
carried  the  bier  stood  still,  and  Jesus  said  to 
him  who  lay  upon  it,  "  Young  man,  I  say  unto 
thee,  arise ! "  Instantly  the  sleep  of  death  was 
broken.  The  man  awakened  into  life,  stepped 
from  the  bier,  and  went  home  with  his  mother. 

Jesus  of  IS'azareth  was  passing  by.  And  a 
woman,  not  of  His  people,  a  woman  of  an  alien 
140 


Jesus  of  Nazareth  Passeth  By     141 

race,  came  crying  and  entreating  Him  to  cure 
her  daughter  who  was  terribly  afflicted.  He 
seemed,  as  it  was  not  His  wont,  to  hesitate,  to 
hold  back,  to  refuse,  but  soon  He  listened  to 
her  petition  and  granted  her  request,  granted 
it  because  of  her  persistence  and  her  faith. 

Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  passing  by.  The  vil- 
lages knew  it,  and  the  fringe  of  the  cities,  and 
from  each  wayside  hamlet  men,  women  and 
children  hurried  for  a  glimpse  of  Him.  He 
was  talking  with  His  disciples,  and  when  He 
smiled,  it  was  as  if  the  sun  came  out,  and  made 
the  whole  day  gladder. 

By  the  roadside  sat  a  blind  man  begging. 
He  heard  the  tramp  of  many  feet,  and  the 
murmur  of  many  voices,  and  he  asked  of  those 
around  him,  "  Who  is  this  that  is  coming  with 
so  much  stir  ?  " 

"  It  is  Jesus  the  Nazarene,"  was  the  answer. 

"  Oh,  hurry  and  take  me  to  Him,"  cried  Bar- 
timeus,  the  son  of  Timeus.  "  Take  me  to 
Him."  But  no  one  moved  hand  or  foot. 
There  were  hundreds  of  blind  beggars  in  Pales- 
tine. The  Jericho  road  swarmed  with  them. 
"Why  should  any  one  trouble  ? 

"  Stop  this  outcry  !  What  do  you  mean  by 
making  such  a  disturbance  ?  "  exclaimed  those 
nearest  the  blind  man,  as  he  shouted  and  called, 
"  Let  me  get  nearer,  nearer  the  Kazarene !  " 

Then  louder  yet  he  lifted  his  voice  till  it  rang 


142  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

like  a  clarion  over  the  mingled  voices  of  the 
multitude,  imploring  and  beseeching, 

"  Jesus  Thou  Son  of  David,  have  mercy  on 
me !  Jesus,  Thou  Son  of  David,  have  mercy 
on  me ! " 

And  Jesus  heard  and  stood  still.  He  waved 
away  those  closest  to  Him.  He  commanded 
and  the  crowd  divided  on  either  side,  as  the 
Ked  Sea  when  the  Hebrews  went  through  it 
dry  shod.  A  narrow  lane  through  the  parted 
throng  was  speedily  made,  and  kind  hands  led 
the  blind  beggar  straight  to  the  presence  of  the 
King. 

"  Be  of  good  cheer,"  they  had  said.  "  Take 
comfort.     Rise,  He  calleth  thee." 

The  blind  man  left  behind  him  his  outer 
cloak  that  would  encumber  him  with  its  folds 
and  trip  his  feet,  and  in  his  tunic  only,  he  stood 
before  Jesus. 

"What  wilt  thou,  that  I  should  do  unto 
thee  ?  "  asked  the  Master. 

"  Lord,"  said  the  blind  man,  "  Lord,  that  I 
might  receive  my  sight ! " 

Jesus  said  unto  him,  "  Go  thy  way ;  thy  faith 
hath  made  thee  whole." 

Once,  Jesus  of  JSTazareth  was  passing  by,  and 
a  deputation  of  men  came  from  John  the  Bap- 
tist to  speak  with  Him.  The  fiery  prophet  no 
longer  addressed  repentant  multitudes,  for  the 
wicked  Herod  had  shut  him  up  in  the  strongly 


Jesus  of  Nazareth  Passeth  By      143 

guarded  prison,  where,  later  he  was  to  die  by 
the  sword.  Dim  glimpses,  faint  rumours  pene- 
trated that  prison,  and  John's  sturdy  soul  in  its 
day  of  depression  half  doubted  whether  indeed 
the  Man  he  had  baptized  in  the  Jordan  was  the 
Christ  of  God. 

"  Art  Thou  He  that  should  come,  or  look  we 
for  another?"  asked  the  disciples  of  John, 
sent  by  John  to  bring  him  a  report. 

"Go  your  way,"  answered  Jesus,  "and  tell 
John  what  you  have  seen  and  heard.  The 
blind  receive  their  sight,  the  deaf  hear,  the 
lepers  are  cleansed,  the  dead  are  raised,  and  to 
the  poor,  the  gospel  is  preached." 

Again  Jesus  of  ]N"azareth  was  passing  by,  and 
He  said  to  a  man  sitting  at  the  receipt  of  cus- 
toms, "  Follow  Me ! "  The  man  was  a  publi- 
can, a  tax-gatherer,  hated  by  every  one,  for 
men  of  his  class  were  extortioners  and  robbers, 
but  he  rose  up,  left  his  old  life,  and  followed 
Jesus. 

Again  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  passing  by, 
and  a  little  man  who  could  not  see  over  the 
heads  of  the  crowd,  climbed  into  a  tree,  to 
have  a  better  view. 

"  Zaccheus ! "  said  Jesus,  looking  up,  "  make 
haste  and  come  down  from  the  tree,  for  to-day 
I  must  abide  at  thy  house." 

"Wonderful  deeds  Jesus  did,  as  He  walked 
over  hill  and  dale  with  His  friends.     Once  He 


144         That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

gave  sight  to  a  man  who  was  born  blind.  All 
the  man  could  say  afterwards,  when  Christ's 
enemies  jeered,  was,  "Whereas  I  was  blind, 
now  I  see ! " 

Sometimes  I  fancy  there  were  men  and 
women  who  lived  in  lonesome  places,  a  good 
way  from  the  travelled  roads,  to  whom  there 
came  echoes  of  what  happened  in  Capernaum 
and  Samaria  and  Judea.  I^ews  would  be 
brought  by  a  neighbour  who  went  to  Je- 
rusalem to  keep  a  feast,  or  by  some  venture- 
some j'^outh  who  could  not  stay  contented  at 
home,  and  went  forth  to  buy  or  sell  in  a  dis- 
tant market. 

In  such  secluded  homes  the  mother  and 
daughter  grinding  at  the  mill,  or  baking  a 
cake  upon  the  coals,  would  say  to  one  another, 
"  Oh,  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  would  pass  by  ! " 

"  If  He  should,"  the  daughter  would  murmur 
with  a  pathetic  anxiety,  "  He  would  cure  that 
pain  of  yours,  dear  mother,  and  make  you  well 
again." 

"  It  is  little  matter  about  me,  daughter,"  I 
can  hear  the  mother  say,  "but  perhaps  He 
would  give  your  father  his  sight  again.  Poor 
father,  he  can  distinguish  objects  no  longer,  he 
dwells  in  the  darkness.  I  hear  that  your  Uncle 
Simeon  who  has  been  blind  for  ten  years,  can 
see  as  well  as  ever  in  his  life  since  the  Healer 
Isdd  those  hands  of  magic  on  his  poor  blind  eyes." 


Jesus  of  Nazareth  Passeth  By     1 45 

And  now  and  then  it  happened  that  Jesus 
forsook  the  beaten  paths  and  walked  through 
the  untrodden  byways,  and  when  He  did  so, 
the  timid  folk  who  shunned  crowds,  made 
crowds  of  their  own  to  hear  His  voice  and  look 
into  His  face.  For  that  was  a  day  marked 
with  a  white  stone,  when  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
passed  by. 

Jesus  of  Nazareth  passed  by  a  fig-tree  that 
ought  to  have  had  fruit,  but  instead  had  noth- 
ing to  show  but  leaves.  A  tree  of  fair  prom- 
ises, but  few  performances.  "  No  man  eat 
fruit  of  thee  henceforward  forever ! "  said 
Jesus,  and  went  on.  When  on  the  morrow 
the  disciples  passed  the  tree,  it  was  a  dead 
tree,  withered  from  the  roots.  That  fig-tree  is 
an  object  lesson  for  us.  A  tree  is  known  by 
its  fruits.  If  we  have  no  fruit  to  show  for 
Christ,  and  only  empty  vows  that  we  easily 
break  belong  to  our  record,  we  too  may  wither 
away.  The  law  of  growth  is  the  law  of  life. 
The  law  of  growth  is  the  law  of  fruit-bearing. 

The  wind  in  the  olives  is  crisp  to-day, 
The  white  caps  ruffle  the  tossing  wave. 
And  the  feet  of  the  Shepherd  who  came  to  save 

Are  treading  the  dust  of  the  world's  highway. 

He  is  seeking  the  lamb  that  has  wandered  far, 
He  is  climbing  the  hills  that  are  rough  and  cold. 
He  is  seeking  the  lost  in  wood  and  wold, 

And  calling  it  back  beneath  sun  and  star. 


146  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

Have  you  heard  them  cry  that  He's  coming  near  ? 
Then  hasten  out  and  be  swift  to  greet 
And  kneel  before  Him  and  kLss  His  feet, 

For  'tis  heaven's  ovrn  love  that  has  brought  Him  here. 

Friend,  would  you  walk  on  the  Jesus'  road  ? 
Then  hearken,  for  there  you  must  walk  with  Him, 
He  may  come  at  noon,  or  in  twilight  dim, 

Let  Him  rest  in  your  heart,  as  His  own  abode. 


XVIII 
BY  THE  WELL  OF  SAMARIA 

"Wells  and  springs  and  rivers  and  foun- 
tains play  a  very  important  part  in  the  Eastern 
lands.  The  women  come  to  draw  water  in 
India  and  Syria  to-day,  as  they  did  in  the 
time  of  our  Lord,  and  as  in  the  time  of  Abra- 
ham. Often  there  are  meetings  for  friendly 
talks  at  the  well,  where  the  neighbours  linger 
in  the  cool  of  the  evening,  or  in  the  early 
morning. 

A  well  was  a  jealously  guarded  and  cher- 
ished piece  of  property  in  the  history  of 
Israel,  for  a  pastoral  people  could  not  get  on 
without  water  for  their  cattle,  and  the  herbage 
grew  green  and  rank  only  where  there  was  re- 
freshing moisture  in  the  earth.  In  the  Old 
Testament  allusions  to  wells  are  frequent,  and 
a  father  once  gave  certain  springs  to  his 
daughter  as  a  wedding-present,  a  present 
greatly  prized,  as  a  house  and  lot,  or  a  dia- 
mond tiara,  or  ancestral  heirlooms  might  be 
with  us.  When  Abraham  sent  his  servant, 
Eliezer  of  Damascus,  to  seek  a  bride  for  Isaac, 
it  was  at  a  well  that  the  stately  messenger  had 
his  introduction  to  the  beautiful  Rebekah. 
U7 


148  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

In  the  first  Psalm  we  are  told  that  the  right- 
eous man  shall  be  like  a  tree  planted  by  the 
rivers  of  water,  and  in  the  twenty -third  Psalm, 
we  read  of  green  pastures  and  still  waters. 
The  plash  of  cool  waves  and  the  ripple  of 
flowing  streams,  make  melody  for  us  all 
through  the  dear  old  Book. 

There  came  a  day  when  Jesus,  having  been 
in  Judea,  determined  to  go  back  to  Galilee, 
and  to  do  this,  He  must  needs  go  through 
Samaria. 

No  swiftly  gliding  railway  train  from  Jeru- 
salem to  Capernaum  in  the  days  of  Christ. 
No  stage-coach  had  its  route  with  relays  of 
swift  horses.  Travellers  went  on  foot,  or 
rode  on  slowly  plodding  mules  or  donkeys ; 
only  the  very  rich  jaunting  about  perhaps  in 
chariots  that  were  lofty  and  notable  for  their 
rarity.  Our  Lord  made  His  pilgrimages 
through  the  Holy  Land,  holy  to  us  because  it 
was  His  land,  on  foot,  wearing  sandals  as 
other  foot  travellers  did,  and  faring  through 
sun  and  dust  and  heat  for  many  a  weary  mile. 

We  never  read  that  Jesus  was  ill,  and  I  do 
not  think  He  ever  was.  His  body,  as  I  have 
said,  was  a  perfect  home  for  His  sinless  soul. 
But  sometimes  He  was  tired. 

He  came  to  a  city  of  Samaria  which  was 
called  Sychar,  near  that  ancient  parcel  of 
ground  that  Jacob  gave  to  his  son  Joseph. 


BY  THE  WELL  OF  SAMARIA 


By  the  Well  of  Samaria  149 

Here  was  Jacob's  well,  a  deep,  exhaustless 
well  that  had  satisfied  the  thirst  of  man  and 
beast  for  generations.  "Who  did  not  love  to 
drink  from  Jacob's  well  ? 

High  noon  had  come. 

A  wayworn  traveller,  Jesus  sat  down  to 
rest  by  the  well,  and  presently  there  came  a 
woman  of  Samaria  to  draw  water. 

An  old  feud,  dating  back  to  remote  ages, 
separated  the  Jews  and  the  Samaritans. 
They  had  no  dealings  with  one  another.  The 
Jews  beheld  the  Samaritans  with  haughty 
scorn.  The  Samaritans  regarded  the  Jews 
with  aversion  and  distrust.  A  Jew  seldom 
addressed  a  Samaritan  if  he  could  help  it,  and 
this  fact  gives  point  to  a  parable  of  Jesus,  the 
story  of  the  good  Samaritan,  which  we  will 
read  before  long. 

"  "Will  you  not  give  me  a  drink  of  water  ?  " 
said  the  lonely  stranger  by  the  well,  to  the 
woman  who  came  from  the  city  with  her 
pitcher  in  her  hand.  His  disciples  had  left 
Jesus  to  rest  while  they  went  away  to  buy 
food. 

The  woman  did  not  immediately  grant  the 
stranger's  very  natural  request,  but  answered 
His  question  by  another. 

"  How  is  it  that  thou,  a  Jew,  askest  drink 
of  me,  a  Samaritan  ?  " 

In  reply  the  man  said  an  amazing  thing. 


150  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  If  thou  knewest  the  gift  of  God  and  who 
it  is  that  saith  unto  thee,  Give  Me  to  drink, 
then  wouldst  thou  have  asked  of  Him,  and  He 
would  have  given  thee  living  water." 

"  Sir,"  said  the  woman,  greatly  astonished, 
"  Thou  hast  nothing  to  draw  with,  and  the 
well  is  deep.  From  whence  hast  Thou  this 
living  water  ?  Our  father  Abraham  gave  us 
this  well.  He  drank  thereof  himself,  and  his 
children  and  his  cattle." 

"  He  that  drinketh  of  this  water,"  said  the 
stranger  by  the  well,  "shall  thirst  again,  but 
whosoever  shall  drink  of  the  water  that  I 
shall  give  him  shall  never  thirst,  but  the  water 
that  I  shall  give  him  shall  be  in  him  a  well  of 
water,  springing  up  to  everlasting  life." 

So  they  talked  beside  Jacob's  well,  the 
woman  who  had  her  sinful  past  and  her  story 
of  trial  and  trouble  behind  her,  and  the  Man, 
in  whose  face  shone  a  peace  that  was  like 
heaven's  own  light.  They  talked,  and  talked 
eagerly,  earnestly,  and  when  the  disciples  re- 
turned with  the  food,  they  found  their  Master 
weary  no  longer,  but  so  refreshed  that  they 
thought  that  some  one  had  ministered  to  Him 
in  His  need.  Refreshment  had  come  to  Him 
in  ministry  to  a  sorrowful  and  sinful  woman, 
to  her  kinsmen  and  her  friends. 

For  she  had  hastened  homeward  and  brought 
them  back  with  her  and   had   said,  "Come. 


By  the  Well  of  Samaria  151 

Down  by  Jacob's  well  there  is  Somebody.  I 
can't  tell  you  who  He  is  for  I  don't  know,  but 
He  is  a  prophet,  and  He  has  told  me  everything 
I  ever  did," 

Many  of  the  Samaritans  who  heard  Jesus 
tell  of  the  living  water  that  day,  believed  in 
Him  and  became  His  followers. 


"  I  heard  the  voice  of  Jesus  say, 

'  Behold  I  freely  give 
The  living  water  ;  thirsty  one 

Stoop  down,  and  drink,  and  live.' 
I  came  to  Jesus  and  I  drank 

Of  that  life-giving  stream. 
My  thirst  was  quenched,  my  soul  revived, 

And  now  I  live  in  Him." 


These  Samaritans,  when  they  accepted  the 
words  of  Christ,  accepted  them  wholly.  They 
said  to  the  woman  who  had  led  them  to  the 
well  that  sultry  afternoon,  "  "We  believe  that 
this  is  the  Christ,  the  Saviour  of  the  world." 

Jesus  left  them  and  went  northward,  until 
He  arrived  at  Cana,  where  He  had  turned  the 
water  into  wine.  Soon  after  He  met  a  noble- 
man of  the  country,  in  great  distress  and  jour- 
neying fast,  hoping  to  find  the  great  Healer, 
for  at  home  he  had  a  son  very  near  death. 

"  Sir,"  said  this  man,  bowing  low  before  the 
Master,  "  Sir,  I  pray  Thee  come  to  my  house, 
and  restore  my  son." 


152         That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  Go  thy  way,"  said  the  Master,  "  thy  son 
liveth." 

News  it  seemed  too  good  to  be  true,  but  it 
was  true.  Our  Lord  went  back  to  His  own 
country,  and  the  nobleman  returned  to  his 
house.  On  the  way  there,  a  servant  came  run- 
ning with  the  happy  tidings  that  the  lad  was 
well. 

Beautiful  stories  these  of  One  who  once 
walked  and  talked,  ate  and  drank,  rested  and 
toiled  among  men.  True  Son  of  Man  !  True 
Son  of  God !  For  God  so  loved  the  world  that 
He  sent  into  it  His  only  Son  that  whosoever 
believeth  on  Him  should  not  perish,  but  should 
have  everlasting  life. 

The  lovely  thing  about  it  was  that  people  in 
trouble  never  stopped  a  moment  on  the  way  to 
Jesus.  They  went  straight  to  Him.  Nobody 
was  afraid  of  Him.  Nobody  sought  Him  in 
vain. 

Nobody  need  be  afraid  of  Him  now.  No- 
body now  need  seek  Him  in  vain. 

"  For  still  to  His  footstool  in  prayer  I  may  go, 
And  ask  for  a  share  in  His  love. 
And  if  I  thus  earnestly  seek  Him  below 
I  shall  see  Him  and  hear  Him  above." 


XIX 

JESUS  AT  THE  FEAST 

"When  the  yearly  occasions  came  to  sum- 
mon the  people  of  Israel  to  Jerusalem,  Jesus 
too,  in  His  Manhood  as  in  His  Childhood,  went 
up  to  keep  the  Feast. 

The  spirit  of  the  devout  Hebrew  had  not 
changed  since  David  wrote,  "  I  was  glad  when 
they  said  unto  me,  Let  us  go  into  the  house  of 
the  Lord.  Our  feet  shall  stand  within  thy 
gates,  O  Jerusalem,  whither  the  tribes  go  up, 
the  tribes  of  the  Lord,  unto  the  testimony  of 
Israel,  to  give  thanks  unto  the  name  of  the 
Lord.  Peace  be  within  thy  walls  and  pros- 
perity within  thy  palaces." 

When  the  Jews  had  been  carried  into  cap- 
tivity in  Babylon,  their  hearts  always  turned 
very  wistfully  towards  Jerusalem.  "By  the 
rivers  of  Babylon  there  we  sat  down :  we 
wept  when  we  remembered  Zion.  How  shall 
we  sing  the  Lord's  song  in  a  strange  land  ?  " 

Through  all  the  centuries  since  Christ  was 
here  on  the  earth,  as  in  so  many  before  He 
came  hither,  the  Jew  has  uttered  this  plaintive 
cry.  Driven  like  a  leaf  before  the  autumn 
wind,  chased  from  land  to  land,  the  people  to 
153 


154  1'hat  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

whom  Jesus  came,  of  whose  race  He  was, 
whom  He  loved  as  His  very  own,  have  been 
exiles  and  sufferers  through  a  long  series  of 
years.  I  am  sorry  that  Christians  too  often 
forget  the  debt  they  owe  the  grand  old  Hebrew 
people,  forget  too  that  our  Saviour  was  born 
in  Judea,  of  the  line  of  David,  and  that  He 
owned  Abraham  as  His  Father. 

Jesus  never  neglected  any  religious  duty  that 
belonged  to  Him  as  a  Jew.  So  He  went  to 
Jerusalem  to  keep  the  feasts,  especially  the 
Feast  of  the  Passover. 

He  would  have  said,  "  If  I  forget  thee,  O 
Jerusalem,  let  My  right  hand  forget  her  cun- 
ning, if  I  do  not  remember  thee,  let  My  tongue 
cleave  to  the  roof  of  My  mouth,  if  I  prefer  not 
Jerusalem  above  My  chief  joy." 

I  can  imagine  our  Saviour  as  He  approached 
the  beautiful  city,  glorious  as  a  dream  of 
heaven,  enthroned  among  the  mountains,  ex- 
claiming, "  I  will  lift  up  Mine  eyes  unto  the 
hills  from  whence  cometh  My  help,"  and 
adding,  "  They  that  trust  in  the  Lord  shall  be 
as  Mount  Zion,  which  cannot  be  removed,  but 
abideth  forever.  As  the  mountains  are  round 
about  Jerusalem,  so  the  Lord  is  round  about 
His  people  from  henceforth  even  forever." 

Dazzling  as  a  vision  in  snow  white  and 
gleaming  gold,  the  vast  temple  was  the  goal  to 
which  the  pilgrims  turned  their  reverent  eyes. 


Jesus  at  the  Feast  155 

Again,  on  the  Sabbath  day,  Jesus  stood  in 
Jerusalem,  and  on  the  way  to  worship  God,  in 
the  solemn  assembly.  He  passed  a  certain 
pool,  called  Bethesda.  It  had  five  porches  or 
entrances,  and  was  near  the  sheep  market, 
where  were  sold  sheep  and  lambs  for  the  sacri- 
fices of  the  Temple  service. 

In  the  porches  that  led  to  the  pool,  lay  at 
all  times  a  great  number  of  impotent  folk, 
patiently  waiting  for  an  angel,  who,  tradition 
said,  at  certain  seasons,  disturbed  the  pool. 
"When  the  sluggish  depths  of  that  pool  were 
ruffled  by  the  stooping  to  its  waves  of  a  shin- 
ing angel  from  the  sky,  whoever  first  stepped 
into  the  water  was  cured  of  his  plague. 

"  And  a  certain  man  was  there,  which  had 
an  infirmity  thirty  and  eight  years. 

"  When  Jesus  saw  him  lie,  and  knew  that  he 
had  been  now  a  long  time  in  that  case.  He 
saith  unto  him,  "Wilt  thou  be  made  whole  ? 

"  And  the  impotent  man  answered  Him,  Sir, 
I  have  no  man,  when  the  water  is  troubled,  to 
put  rae  into  the  pool :  but  while  I  am  coming, 
another  steppeth  down  before  me. 

"Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Kise,  take  up  thy 
bed,  and  walk. 

"  And  immediately  the  man  was  made  whole, 
and  took  up  his  bed,  and  walked :  and  on  the 
same  day  was  the  Sabbath." 

Again,  the  Jews  were  angry  because  on  the 


156  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

Sabbath  day  the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  had 
wrought  a  miracle  of  healing.  He  met  their 
reproaches  calmly,  but  with  a  statement,  even 
more  boldly  uttered  than  before. 

"  My  Father  worketh  hitherto,  and  I  work." 

Now  it  was,  that  openly  and  shamelessly 
there  were  Jews  who  sought  to  kill  the  Christ. 
They  were  full  of  malice  and  wickedness  and 
murder  was  in  their  hearts.  But  they  could 
not  kill  Jesus  then. 

His  hour  had  not  yet  come.  These  Jews 
swung  to  and  fro  like  a  pendulum  in  their 
moods,  one  day  wanting  to  take  Jesus  by  force 
and  make  Him  a  King,  the  next  trying  to  en- 
trap Him  and  find  some  good  reason  to  put 
Him  to  death. 

About  this  time,  the  Lord  addressing  those 
around  Him  said,  "  Your  fathers  did  eat  manna 
in  the  wilderness  and  are  dead.  I  am  the  bread 
of  Life.  He  that  cometh  to  Me  shall  never 
hunger.  He  that  believeth  on  Me  shall  never 
thirst." 

Even  those  who  were  next  of  kin  to  Christ 
turned  away  from  Him  when  He  spoke  such 
words  as  these.  I  am  sure  His  mother  listened 
and  believed,  and  that  His  friends,  Peter  and 
James  and  John,  had  some  faint  glimmerings 
of  what  He  meant,  but  many  were  vexed,  and 
turned  away  because  they  were  vexed. 

They  did  not  understand  what  Jesus  would 


Jesus  at  the  Feast  157 

convey  when  He  said  that  He  was  the  Bread 
of  Life.  They  were  like  children  trying  to 
unravel  a  puzzle  to  which  they  had  no  clue. 

As  bread  enters  into  our  bodily  lives  and 
gives  us  strength,  so  Christ  entering  into  our 
souls,  gives  us  strength  for  every  hour.  He 
is  the  Bread  of  Life. 

Again,  our  dear  Lord  said  some  other  won- 
derful words. 

"Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  He  that 
entereth  not  by  the  door  into  the  sheepfold, 
but  climbeth  up  some  other  way,  the  same  is  a 
thief  and  a  robber.  But  he  that  entereth  in  by 
the  door  is  the  shepherd  of  the  sheep.  To  him 
the  porter  openeth ;  and  the  sheep  hear  his 
voice :  and  he  calleth  his  own  sheep  by  name, 
and  leadeth  them  out. 

"  And  when  he  putteth  forth  his  own  sheep, 
he  goeth  before  them,  and  the  sheep  follow 
him :  for  they  know  his  voice.  A.nd  a  stranger 
will  they  not  follow,  but  will  flee  from  him : 
for  they  know  not  the  voice  of  strangers. 

"This  parable  spake  Jesus  unto  them,  but 
they  understood  not  what  things  they  were 
which  He  spake  unto  them. 

"  Then  Jesus  said  unto  them  again,  Yerily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  I  am  the  door  of  the 
sheep.  All  that  ever  came  before  Me  are 
thieves  and  robbers:  but  the  sheep  did  not 
hear  them. 


158  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  I  am  the  door :  by  Me  if  any  man  enter  in, 
he  shall  be  saved,  and  shall  go  in  and  out,  and 
find  pasture. 

"  The  thief  cometh  not,  but  for  to  steal,  and 
to  kill,  and  to  destroy.  I  am  come  that  they 
might  have  life,  and  that  they  might  have  it 
more  abundantly. 

"I  am  the  good  shepherd:  the  good  shep- 
herd giveth  his  life  for  the  sheep. 

"  But  he  that  is  an  hireling,  and  not  the 
shepherd,  whose  own  the  sheep  are  not,  seeth 
the  wolf  coming,  and  leaveth  the  sheep,  and 
fleeth  :  and  the  wolf  catcheth  them,  and  scat- 
tereth  the  sheep. 

"  The  hireling  fleeth,  because  he  is  an  hire- 
ling, and  careth  not  for  the  sheep. 

"  I  am  the  good  shepherd,  and  know  My 
sheep,  and  am  known  of  Mine. 

"  As  the  Father  knoweth  Me,  even  so  know 
I  the  Father  :  and  I  lay  down  My  life  for  the 
sheep. 

"  And  other  sheep  I  have,  which  are  not  of 
this  fold :  them  also  I  must  bring,  and  they 
shall  hear  My  voice :  and  there  shall  be  one 
fold,  and  one  shepherd. 

"  Therefore  doth  My  Father  love  Me,  be- 
cause I  lay  down  My  life,  that  I  might  take  it 
again. 

"  No  man  taketh  it  from  Me,  but  I  lay  it 
down  of  Myself.     I  have  power  to  lay  it  down, 


Jesus  at  the  Feast  159 

and  I  have  power  to  take  it  again.  This  com- 
mandment have  I  received  of  My  Father." 

This  passage  ought  to  be  committed  to 
memory  by  every  one  who  loves  Jesus  Christ. 
It  is  like  a  cluster  of  diamonds  sparkling  with 
rarest  lustre. 

Are  we  indeed  of  those  whom  the  Good 
Shepherd  claims  as  His  very  own  ?  Have  we 
heard  Him  call  us  by  name  ?  Then  we  may 
fear  no  foe,  for, 

"  Our  Shepherd  is  beside  us 
And  nothing  can  we  lack." 

Here,  distinctly,  and  in  the  plainest  terms, 
Jesus  said  that  as  the  Good  Shepherd,  He 
would  lay  down  His  life  for  the  sheep.  No 
man  should  take  it  from  Him.  He  would  lay 
it  down  of  Himself.  "I  have  power,"  He 
said,  "  to  lay  it  down,  and  to  take  it  up  again." 
Here  Jesus  declared  Himself  the  Son  of 
God.  No  mere  man  could  do  what  He  prom- 
ised to  do,  lay  down  His  life,  and  take  it  up 
again.  Reading  this  verse,  well  may  we  with 
Faber  exclaim. 


"  O  Jesus,  Jesus,  dearest  Lord, 
Forgive  me  if  I  say 
For  very  love  Thy  sacred  Name 
A  thousand  times  a  day. 


l6o  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  For  Thou  to  me  art  all  in  all, 
My  honour  and  my  wealth, 
My  heart's  desire,  my  body's  strength, 
My  soul's  eternal  health." 


XX 

JESUS  AND  PRAYER 

I  AM  sure  that  no  one  who  studies  the  life 
of  our  Lord  can  fail  to  notice  how  much  time 
He  spent  in  prayer.  You  and  I  spend  a  little 
while  in  the  morning  and  evening,  and  we 
may  be  hurried  in  the  one  end  of  the  day,  and 
tired  in  the  other,  so  that  we  do  not  give  our 
whole  hearts  and  minds  to  what  we  are  say- 
ing. People  may  repeat  prayers  and  think  of 
something  else.  Wandering  thoughts  insult 
God,  for  when  we  come  into  His  presence  the 
least  we  can  do  is  to  bring  our  full  attention 
vrith  us.  Jesus  was  often  known  to  go  alone 
to  pray,  and  He  spent  hours  under  the  stars  in 
converse  with  His  Father. 

Jesus  had  no  sin  to  confess,  so  in  one  par- 
ticular His  prayers  were  very  different  from 
ours.  He  needed  not  to  seek  the  pardon  of 
sin.  We  cannot  pray  without  begging  for- 
giveness and  acknowledging  the  wrong  we 
have  done,  and  bewailing  the  right  we  have 
left  undone. 

Jesus  spoke  directly  to  His  Father  as  friend 
to    friend.     We   ask   for  Jesus'  sake.     Jesus 
i6i 


l62  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

prayed  continually  for  others,  making  prayers 
of  intercession.     We  too  may  do  this. 

Some  things  Jesus  taught  us  about  prayer. 
He  said  it  was  asking.  "  Ask,  and  it  shall  be 
given  you,  seek  and  ye  shall  find,  knock  and  it 
shall  be  opened  unto  you." 

There  are  those  who  do  not  take  the  trouble 
to  ask  God  for  a  blessing,  who  are  too  dull  to 
seek  His  gifts,  and  who  never  knock  at 
heaven's  gate.  They  lead  prayerless  lives. 
They  are  no  better  than  the  cattle  feeding  in 
the  pastures,  not  so  good,  for  the  "  ox  knoweth 
its  owner,  and  the  ass  its  master's  crib."  It  is 
no  wonder  that  the  secrets  of  God's  love  are 
hidden  from  such  heedless  souls,  too  indolent 
to  pray. 

Jesus  told  us  that  we  must  persevere  in 
prayer.  A  man  had  gone  to  bed  one  night, 
and  shut  and  barred  the  house,  and  was 
wrapped  in  slumber  when  there  came  a  loud 
knocking  at  his  door.  "  Open,  open,"  cried  a 
voice,  "  and  lend  me  some  bread,  three  loaves 
if  you  have  them.  A  friend  of  mine  on  a 
journey  has  stopped  with  me,  and  I  have  no 
food  to  set  before  him." 

"  Go  somewhere  else,  won't  you  ?  "  calls  the 
drowsy  man,  hating  to  be  disturbed.  "  I  have 
closed  my  house.  It  is  bolted  and  barred. 
My  children  are  asleep.  Go  away.  I  cannot 
rise  and  give  you  bread." 


Jesus  and  Prayer  163 

But  the  outsider  is  wide  awake  and  refuses 
to  leave.  And  says  Jesus,  "  because  of  his  im- 
portunity he  receives  what  he  wants."  The 
lesson  for  us  is  to  be  importunate  in  prayer. 

"  There  is  a  place  where  spirits  blend 
And  friend  holds  fellowship  with  friend. 
Though  sundered  far  by  faith  we  meet 
Around  one  common  Mercy  Seat. ' ' 

Jesus  tells  us  when  we  pray,  not  to  stand  in 
the  street  or  on  the  corner  or  in  the  market, 
but  to  enter  into  our  closet  and  shut  the  door, 
and  pray  to  our  Father  who  seeth  in  secret. 
The  Moslem  prays  audibly  and  conspicuously 
wherever  he  happens  to  be  when  from  the 
mosque  falls  the  call  to  prayer.  The  hypocrites 
in  Jesus'  time  prayed  loudly  to  be  heard  and 
seen  of  men.  Heathen  nations  to-day  have 
praying-machines  into  which  poor  deluded 
worshippers  drop  their  meaningless  prayers 
written  on  scraps  of  paper. 

Prayer  should  be  the  cry  of  faith  from  man's 
soul  to  God's.  The  most  earnest  prayers  are 
made  when  one  is  in  solitude. 

"  Two  men,"  said  Jesus,  "  went  up  into  the 
temple  to  pray."  One,  a  Pharisee,  recited  be- 
fore God  the  story  of  his  virtues,  how  he  kept 
the  commandments,  how  he  gave  tithes  of  his 
possessions,  how  he  fed  the  poor.  The  other, 
a  poor  publican,  stood  afar  off,  and  beating  on 


164         That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

his  breast  had  only  one  petition,  but  it  was  sin- 
cere. "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner."  "We 
have  the  word  of  Jesus  for  the  result  of  the 
publican's  prayer.  God  heard  it,  and  sent 
him  comfort  and  peace.  Before  honour  is 
humility. 

You  want  your  father  to  let  you  go  on  a 
journey,  or  take  an  advanced  course  in  college, 
or  enter  on  some  field  of  business.  You  take 
the  natural  course  of  telling  him  your  wishes 
and  asking  him  to  gratify  them,  and  that  is 
prayer.  We  may  go  to  God  in  that  same 
simple  way. 

I  heard  the  other  day  of  a  girl  who  had 
drifted  into  a  false  position  through  over- 
impulsiveness,  and  who  was  very  much  em- 
barrassed and  distressed.  She  came  in  tears  to 
a  friend,  saying,  "  "What  shall  I  do  ?  "  The 
friend  said,  "Tell  your  father.  He  will  set 
the  matter  straight.  That  is  one  thing  a 
father  is  for,  to  rescue  a  child  when  she  is  in 
a  slough  of  despair  and  pull  her  out  to  firm 
ground  again." 

If  you  and  I  have  somehow  lost  our  bearings, 
and  are  astray  in  a  far  country,  we  may  find  our 
way  back  by  telling  our  Father.  Pray  with- 
out ceasing,  is  a  little  text  easily  learned  by 
heart.  Does  somebody  say  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  do  this  ?  Not  at  all.  One  may  be 
in  an  atmosphere  of  praj^er,  as  the  plant  in  the 


Jesus  and  Prayer  165" 

greenhouse  is  in  an  atmosphere  warm  with 
sun  and  beaded  with  dew.  "Whenever  you 
feel  an  inner  impulse,  tugging  at  your  heart, 
bidding  you  pray,  then  and  there,  if  you  are 
like  Jesus,  you  will  send  a  thought  of  prayer 
up  to  God.  It  will  fly  swifter  than  light  or 
lightning  straight  to  His  throne.  No  tele- 
gram carries  messages  so  surely  as  the  wire, 
unseen,  and  everlasting,  that  reaches  from 
every  human  soul  directly  to  heaven. 

"  Hello,  Central,"  when  the  telephone  was 
a  novelty,  said  a  little  child,  "  Give  me  Heaven  I 
I  want  to  say  my  prayers  ! " 

But  you  don't  need  "  Central"  to  give  you 
heaven.  You  have  only  to  send  your  prayer 
from  a  heart  that  longs  for  help,  and  the 
prayer  will  be  answered. 

The  Holy  Spirit  teaches  us  what  we  ought 
to  pray  for,  and  how  we  ought  to  pray.  No 
Christian  child  or  man  asks  anything  of  God, 
without  saying,  "  Thy  will  be  done." 

Jesus  set  us  this  example  too.  "Not  My 
will,"  He  said  to  His  Father,  "  but  Thine  be 
done." 

In  the  Christian  Endeavour  parting  song 
there  is  a  thought  I  hold  very  dear. 

"  God  be  with  yon  till  we  meet  again, 

Keep  love's  banner  floating  o'er  yon,  , 

Daily  manna  still  provide  you, 
God  be  with  you  till  we  meet  again." 


1 66  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

A  traveller  in  the  desert,  the  width  of  the 
world  between  him  and  his  loved  ones,  wrote 
home  that  on  a  Sabbath  morning,  in  the  midst 
of  the  great  silence,  he  suddenly  heard  the 
church-bells  chiming  in  the  New  England 
valley,  and  the  sound  of  the  choir  singing. 
Somehow  to  his  soul's  ear  these  happy  notes 
were  borne,  he  could  not  tell  how,  but  he  felt 
that  as  he  prayed  and  sang  a  hymn,  he  was 
joining  in  the  worship  at  home. 

Thus  we  meet  at  Jesus'  feet  whenever  we 
pray,  our  petitions  going  up  to  God,  with  those 
of  dear  ones  still  on  earth,  but,  it  may  be,  out 
of  our  sight  for  awhile.  This  is  a  pleasant 
phase  of  the  Christian  life.  We  may  be 
divided  by  time  and  space,  but  we  are  near  one 
another  in  the  dear  Lord's  care. 


HIM   THAT   COMETH   UNTO   ME   I   WILL   IN   NO   WISE 
CAST  OUT 


XXI 

JESUS  AND  PARDONED  SIN 

One  of  the  complaints  frequently  made  by 
the  Pharisees  and  scribes,  was  that  Jesus  drew 
around  Him  people  whose  lives  were  sinful. 
There  was  in  our  Saviour,  an  endless  pity  for 
those  who  did  wrong,  and  He  was  always 
ready  to  forgive  them,  and  win  them  to  par- 
don and  peace.  No  one  needs  to  be  told  that 
those  who  willfully  commit  sin  never  have 
peace  of  mind  or  joy  in  their  hearts.  They 
never  know  what  is  before  them.  They  are 
misfits  everywhere.  Sin  itself  is  like  a  black 
blur  over  the  sunshine  of  the  universe.  One 
cannot  be  happy  in  sin. 

The  publicans  and  sinners,  people  who  had 
strayed  far  from  the  path  of  right,  were  never 
afraid  to  come  to  Jesus.  A  sweet  attractive- 
ness for  them  was  in  His  benignant  face.  Let 
us  look  at  some  of  His  teachings,  thinking  of 
Jesus  as  the  Friend  who  pardons  sin. 

Being  a  guest  in  the  house  of  a  chief  Phari- 
see who  was  not  treating  Him  with  the  friend- 
liness and  honour  required  by  good  manners 
in  a  host,  Jesus  uttered  this  parable.  He 
167 


i68  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

knew  that  the  Pharisee  did  not  love  Him,  and 
had  invited  Him  from  some  unworthy  motive. 

"  "When  thou  makest  a  dinner  or  a  supper, 
call  not  thy  friends,  nor  thy  brethren,  nor  thy 
rich  neighbours ;  lest  they  also  bid  thee  again, 
and  a  recompense  be  made  thee. 

"But  when  thou  makest  a  feast,  call  the 
poor,  the  maimed,  the  lame,  the  blind;  and 
thou  shalt  be  blessed ;  for  they  cannot  recom- 
pense thee ;  for  thou  shalt  be  recompensed  at 
the  resurrection  of  the  just." 

One  of  those  who  sat  at  the  table  with  Jesus 
said,  "  Blessed  is  he  that  shall  eat  bread  in  the 
Kingdom  of  God."  In  the  midst  of  those 
proud  Pharisees  Jesus  sat,  an  object  lesson  in 
His  own  Person,  of  the  beauty  of  humility. 

When  He  left  this  home.  He  was  followed 
by  very  many  persons  to  whom  He  spoke 
words  of  cheer  and  comfort.  It  was  at  this 
time,  in  reply  to  the  murmuring  of  the  Phari- 
sees, because  He  received  sinners,  and  ate  with 
them, — that  He  said,  "  What  man  of  you,  hav- 
ing an  hundred  sheep,  if  he  lose  one  of  them, 
doth  not  leave  the  ninety  and  nine  in  the 
wilderness,  and  go  after  that  which  is  lost,  un- 
til he  find  it  ? 

"  And  when  he  hath  found  it,  he  layeth  it 
on  his  shoulders  rejoicing.  And  wheii  he 
Cometh  home,  he  calleth  together  his  friends 
and   neighbours,   saying  unto  them,  Rejoice 


Jesus  and  Pardoned  Sin  169 

with  me;  for  I  have  found  my  sheep  which 
was  lost. 

"  I  say  unto  you,  that  likewise  joy  shall  be 
in  heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,  more 
than  over  ninety  and  nine  just  persons,  which 
need  no  repentance." 

In  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  where  the 
mists  suddenly  fall  upon  the  mountains,  like  a 
shrouding  veil,  a  traveller  once  stopped  at  the 
door  of  a  little  house,  nestling  in  the  shadow 
of  a  great  hill.  Night  had  fallen,  and  the 
traveller  had  lost  his  way.  The  candle  in  the 
window  dimly  shining  through  the  darkness, 
had  guided  him  to  the  door,  and  he  knocked 
and  was  admitted.  He  found  the  family  in 
great  trouble,  for  the  man  of  the  house  had 
not  come  home,  but  was  away  somewhere  on 
the  mountain  paths,  looking  for  a  lost  lamb. 
Toward  morning,  tired  but  joyful,  the  shep- 
herd came  home  with  the  little  lost  lamb  safely 
tucked  within  his  plaid.  He  had  not  minded 
the  cold,  nor  the  darkness,  as  he  had  looked 
for  the  little  creature  that  had  wandered 
away. 

Our  Saviour  told  us  that  just  this  sort  of  joy 
there  is  in  heaven  over  one  wandering  child 
who  finds  the  way  back,  and  as  the  lost  one 
cannot  find  the  way  back  himself,  the  Shep- 
herd goes  to  seek  for  it.  Don't  you  like  Bonar's 
hymn, 


170  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  I  was  a  wandering  sheep, 

I  did  not  love  the  fold  ; 
I  did  not  love  my  Shepherd's  voice, 

I  would  not  be  controlled. 
I  was  a  wayward  child, 

I  did  not  love  my  home, 
I  did  not  love  my  Father's  voice, 

I  loved  afar  to  roam. 

"  The  Shepherd  songht  His  sheep, 

The  Father  sought  His  child, 
They  followed  me  o'er  vale  and  hill, 

O'er  deserts  waste  and  wild  : 
They  found  me  nigh  to  death, 

Famished  and  faint,  and  lone  ; 
They  bound  me  with  the  bands  of  love ; 

They  saved  the  wandering  one." 

Jesus  gave  a  further  illustration  of  the 
readiness  of  the  Lord  to  pardon  a  repentant 
sinner,  by  telling  of  a  woman  who  had  ten 
pieces  of  silver  and  had  lost  one.  She  would 
not  be  contented  until  she  had  found  her  lost 
coin.  She  would  light  a  candle  and  sweep 
the  house,  and  look  in  every  nook  and  corner 
until  she  found  her  treasure.  Often  in  those 
days,  a  woman's  whole  dowry  was  contained 
in  the  few  pieces  of  silver  which  she  wore  as 
a  necklace.  If  one  of  these  was  missing  it 
was  a  very  serious  matter  to  her,  and  those 
around  Jesus  would  understand  at  once  with 
what  thoroughness  and  diligence  she  would 
search  until  she  recovered  her  property. 

Again  Jesus  said,  "  I  say  unto  you,  there  is 


Jesus  and  Pardoned  Sin  171 

joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over 
one  sinner  that  repenteth."  Not  the  joy  only 
of  the  angels,  but  the  joy  of  the  Lord  Him- 
self, before  whom  the  angels  bow.  Such 
search  as  the  woman  might  make  for  her  coin, 
the  Lord  would  make  for  His  precious  one. 

After  this,  still  talking  to  a  company,  com- 
posed partly  of  Pharisees  who  were  watch- 
ful and  suspicious,  and  partly  of  those  who  are 
called  in  the  narrative  publicans  and  sinners, 
people  who  made  no  pretensions  to  be  better 
than  they  were,  and  many  of  whom  were 
numbered  with  those  who  led  doubtful  lives, 
Jesus  told  the  incomparably  beautiful  story, 
of  the  Prodigal  Son. 

"  A  certain  man  had  two  sons :  And  the 
younger  of  them  said  to  his  father.  Father 
give  me  the  portion  of  goods  that  falleth  to 
me.  And  he  divided  unto  them  his  liv- 
ing. 

"  And  not  many  days  after  the  younger  son 
gathered  all  together,  and  took  his  journey 
into  a  far  country,  and  there  wasted  his 
substance  with  riotous  living.  And  when  he 
had  spent  all,  there  arose  a  mighty  famine  in 
that  land ;  and  he  began  to  be  in  want. 

"And  he  went  and  joined  himself  to  a 
citizen  of  that  country  ;  and  he  sent  him  into 
the  fields  to  feed  swine. 

"And  he  would  fain  have  filled  his  belly 


172  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

with  the  husks  that  the  swine  did  eat ;  and  no 
man  gave  unto  him. 

"  And  when  he  came  to  himself,  he  said, 
How  many  hired  servants  of  my  father's  have 
bread  enough  and  to  spare,  and  I  perish  with 
hunger. 

"  I  will  arise  and  go  to  my  father,  and  will 
say  unto  him,  Father,  I  have  sinned  against 
heaven,  and  before  thee,  and  am  no  more 
worthy  to  be  called  thy  son ;  make  me  as  one 
of  thy  hired  servants. 

"  And  he  arose  and  came  to  his  father.  But 
when  he  was  yet  a  great  way  off,  his  father 
saw  him,  and  had  compassion  on  him,  and  ran, 
and  fell  on  his  neck,  and  kissed  him. 

"  And  the  son  said  unto  him,  Father,  I  have 
sinned  against  heaven,  and  in  thy  sight,  and 
am  no  more  worthy  to  be  called  thy  son. 

"  But  the  father  said  to  his  servants.  Bring 
forth  the  best  robe,  and  put  it  on  him ;  and 
put  a  ring  on  his  hand,  and  shoes  on  his  feet ; 
And  bring  hither  the  fatted  calf,  and  kill  it ; 
and  let  us  eat,  and  be  merry :  For  this  my 
son  was  dead,  and  is  alive  again ;  he  was  lost 
and  is  found.     And  they  began  to  be  merry. 

"Now  his  elder  son  was  in  the  field:  and 
as  he  came  and  drew  nigh  to  the  house,  he 
heard  music  and  dancing.  And  he  called  one 
of  the  servants,  and  asked  what  these  things 
meant. 


Jesus  and  Pardoned  Sin  173 

"And  he  said  unto  him,  Thy  brother  is 
come,  and  thy  father  hath  killed  the  fatted 
calf,  because  he  hath  received  him  safe  and 
sound. 

"  And  he  was  angry,  and  would  not  go  in : 
therefore  came  his  father  out,  and  intreated 
him. 

"  And  he  answering  said  to  his  father,  Lo, 
these  many  years  do  I  serve  thee,  neither 
transgressed  I  at  any  time  thy  commandment : 
and  yet  thou  never  gavest  me  a  kid,  that  I 
might  make  merry  with  my  friends :  But  as 
soon  as  this  thy  son  was  come,  which  hath  de- 
voured thy  living  with  harlots,  thou  hast 
killed  for  him  the  fatted  calf. 

"And  he  said  unto  him.  Son,  thou  art  ever 
with  me,  and  all  that  I  have  is  thine.  It  was 
meet  that  we  should  make  merry,  and  be  glad ; 
for  this  thy  brother  was  dead,  and  is  alive 
again ;  and  was  lost,  and  is  found." 

This  story  is  sometimes  explained  as  mean- 
ing that  the  elder  son  was  a  type  of  the  Jew, 
and  the  younger,  of  the  Gentile.  But  I  do  not 
think  for  us  it  needs  any  explanation  beyond 
this,  that  the  Father  is  always  ready  to  re- 
ceive and  welcome  the  child  who  has  gone 
astray  no  matter  how  far,  if  only  the  child 
will  come  home,  confess  sin,  and  show  a  will- 
ingness to  begin  over  again. 

There  is  no  limit  to  the  forgiveness  of  Jesus, 


174  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

who  is  ready  to  forgive  the  sinner  to  the 
uttermost. 

One  of  the  disciples  once  questioned  Jesus 
about  earthly  forgiveness,  saying,  "  Lord,  if  my 
brother  sin  against  me,  how  oft  shall  I  forgive 
him:  till  seven  times?"  And  the  Lord  an- 
swered him,  "  Not  till  seven  times,  but  until 
seventy  times  seven  : "  showing  that  we  must 
forgive  those  who  have  offended  us,  not  once 
or  twice,  but  over  and  over  again. 

' '  How  many  sheep  are  straying, 

Lost  from  the  Saviour's  fold  ! 
Upon  the  lonely  mountain 

They  shiver  with  the  cold  ; 
Within  the  tangled  thickets, 

Where  poison  vines  do  creep. 
And  over  rocky  ledges 

Wander  the  poor  lost  sheep. 
O  come,  let  us  go  and  find  them, 

In  the  paths  of  death  they  roam  ; 
At  the  close  of  the  day,  'twill  be  sweet  to  say, — 
*  I  have  brought  some  lost  one  home.' 

"  O  who  will  go  to  find  them  ? 

Who,  for  the  Saviour's  sake. 
Will  search,  with  tireless  patience. 

Through  briar  and  through  brake  ? 
Unheeding  thirst  or  hunger. 

Who  still,  from  day  to  day, 
Will  seek  as  for  a  treasure, 

The  sheep  that  go  astray  ? 
O  come,  let  us  go  and  find  them, 

In  the  paths  of  death  they  roam  ; 
At  the  close  of  the  day,  'twill  be  sweet  to  say, — 
' I  have  brought  some  lost  one  home.'  " 


XXII 
LORD  IF  THOU  HADST  BEEN  HERE 

Jesus  and  His  disciples  were  lingering  in 
Galilee  when  there  came  to  Him  a  message 
that  a  friend  named  Lazarus  was  very  ill. 
The  home  of  Lazarus  was  in  Bethany,  a  little 
village  not  far  from  Jerusalem.  Here  in  the 
family  of  Lazarus  who  lived  with  his  sisters, 
Martha  and  Mary,  Jesus  was  often  received  as 
an  honoured  guest.  The  message  sent  by  the 
sisters  to  Jesus,  was  very  tender  and  touching, 
"  Lord,  behold  he  whom  Thou  lovest  is  sick." 
We  are  told  that  Jesus  loved  Martha  and  her 
sister  and  Lazarus,  yet  when  He  heard  that 
Lazarus  was  sick,  He  did  not  then  go  to  him, 
but  stayed  for  two  days  in  the  place  where  He 
was.  After  which.  He  said  to  His  disciples, 
"  Let  us  go  into  Judea  again."  The  disciples 
thought  this  an  unwise  proceeding.  They 
said,  "  Master,  the  Jews  are  very  unfriendly. 
Of  late  they  have  sought  to  stone  Thee.  And 
goest  Thou  thither  again  ?  " 

The  answer  which  Jesus  gave  is  one  that  we 

may  all  give  when  there  is  a  duty  or  danger 

before  us,  or  work  that  must  be  done.     "  Are 

there  not  twelve  hours  in  the  day?    If  any 

175 


176  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

man  walk  in  the  day,  he  stumbleth  not,  be- 
cause he  seeth  the  light  of  this  world."  "  Our 
friend  Lazarus  sleepeth,"  He  said,  "  but  I  go 
that  I  may  awake  him  out  of  sleep." 

The  disciples  thought  that  sleep  was  a  good 
sign  in  illness,  and  they  said,  "Lord,  if  he 
sleep  he  shall  do  well."  But  Jesus  was  speak- 
ing of  His  friend's  death,  calling  it  sleep. 

In  the  Eoman  Catacombs,  over  the  graves 
of  the  early  Christians,  little  children,  young 
maidens  and  people  grown  old,  the  legend  is 
found  again  and  again,  "  Our  brother  sleeps," 
"  Our  sister  sleeps." 

Heathen  religions  regard  death  as  the  end 
of  all.  Christ's  religion  speaks  of  death  as 
slumber  from  which  one  wakens  in  the  morning. 

Jesus  seeing  that  they  did  not  understand, 
said  plainly,  "  Lazarus  is  dead,  and  I  am  glad 
for  your  sakes  that  I  was  not  there,  to  the  in- 
tent that  you  may  believe ;  nevertheless  let  us 
go  unto  him." 

Among  the  disciples  there  was  one  of  whom 
we  shall  hear  something  interesting  at  a  later 
period.     His  name  was  Thomas. 

Seeing  that  Jesus  desired  to  go  to  Jerusalem 
Thomas  said  to  the  other  disciples,  "Let  us 
also  go,  that  we  may  die  with  Him." 

They  all  felt  that  the  shades  were  gathering 
around  their  Master,  although  they  did  not 
comprehend  that  this  was  what  He  expected, 


Lord  if  Thou  Hadst  Been  Here    177 

was  indeed  the  reason  of  His  being  in  the 
world.  But  Thomas  gave  his  pledge  of  love 
and  loyalty  when,  anticipating  the  martyrdom 
of  Jesus,  he  wished  to  share  it. 

By  the  time  Jesus  reached  Bethany,  Lazarus 
had  been  lying  four  days  in  the  grave.  Friends 
of  the  family  were  sitting  in  the  desolate  house 
trying  to  comfort  the  desolate  sisters.  Some- 
body running  in,  said,  "  Jesus  of  Nazareth  is 
coming  with  His  disciples."  Immediately 
Martha  left  the  company  of  friends  and  went 
out  to  meet  the  Lord,  and  Mary  sat  still  where 
she  was.  The  temperament  of  these  two  sis- 
ters was  different,  one  being  quick  and  ener- 
getic and  impatient  if  obliged  to  be  quiet,  while 
the  other  was  gentle  and  tranquil,  and  not  very 
apt  to  take  what  we  call  the  initiative  in  any- 
thing that  was  to  be  done.  It  was  like  Martha 
to  go  forth  to  meet  Jesus,  and  like  Mary  to 
wait  in  the  house  until  He  came.  When 
Martha  met  Him,  her  first  words  were  those 
of  tender  reproach.  "  Lord,  if  Thou  hadst 
been  here,  our  brother  had  not  died."  Thus 
she  gave  a  proof  of  faith  which  has  never  been 
surpassed.  She  went  on  to  say,  "  I  know  that 
even  now  whatsoever  Thou  wilt  ask  of  God, 
God  will  give  it  Thee." 

Jesus  said  to  her,  "Thy  brother  shall  rise 
again." 

"Yes,"  replied  Martha,  "I  know  that  he 


178  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

shall  rise  again  in  the  resurrection  at  the  last 
day." 

Then  it  was  that  Jesus  said  the  words  which 
have  been  the  consolation  and  strength  of 
Christians  through  the  ages ;  said  them  first  to 
a  woman,  mourning  for  her  dead.  "  I  am  the 
resurrection  and  the  life ;  he  that  believeth  in 
Me,  though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live: 
and  whosoever  liveth  and  believeth  in  Me  shall 
never  die.     Believest  thou  this  ?  " 

Instantly  came  the  response  from  Martha, 
"  Yes,  Lord,  I  believe  that  Thou  art  the  Christ 
the  Son  of  God,  which  should  come  into  the 
world." 

Turning  from  Jesus,  Martha  went  back  to 
the  house  and  quietly  called  Mary,  saying, 
"  The  Master  is  come,  and  calleth  for  thee." 

Mary  arose  quietly,  and  in  her  turn  went  to 
Jesus.  She  too,  sank  down  at  His  feet  saying, 
"  Lord,  if  Thou  hadst  been  here  my  brother 
had  not  died."  The  mourning  company  who 
had  been  in  the  house  had  followed  Mary,  sup- 
posing that  she  had  gone  to  her  brother's  tomb 
to  weep.  They  all  stood  there  a  company  of 
grieving  people  surrounding  Jesus. 

Presently  He  said, "  "Where  have  ye  laid  him  ?  " 

"  Lord,  come  and  see,"  said  the  sisters. 

"  Jesus  wept. 

"  Then  said  the  Jews,  behold  how  He  loved 
him. 


Lord  if  Thou  Hadst  Been  Here    179 

"And  some  of  them  said,  Could  not  this 
Jesus,  who  opened  the  eyes  of  the  blind,  have 
caused  that  even  Lazarus  should  not  have 
died? 

"  Jesus  therefore  again  groaning  in  Himself 
Cometh  to  the  grave.  It  was  a  cave,  and  a 
stone  lay  upon  it. 

"Jesus  said,  Take  ye  away  the  stone.  Mar- 
tha, the  sister  of  him  that  was  dead,  saith  unto 
Him,  Lord,  he  hath  been  dead  four  days. 

"  Jesus  saith  unto  her.  Said  I  not  unto  thee, 
that,  if  thou  wouldst  believe,  thou  shouldst  see 
the  glory  of  God  ? 

"  Then  they  took  away  the  stone  from  the 
place  where  the  dead  was  laid.  And  Jesus 
lifted  up  His  eyes,  and  said,  Father,  I  thank 
Thee  that  Thou  hast  heard  Me. 

"  And  I  knew  that  Thou  hearest  Me  always : 
but  because  of  the  people  which  stand  by  I 
said  it,  that  they  may  believe  that  Thou  hast 
sent  Me.  And  when  He  had  thus  spoken. 
He  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  Lazarus,  come 
forth. 

"  And  he  that  was  dead  came  forth,  bound 
hand  and  foot  in  grave-clothes :  and  his  face 
was  bound  about  with  a  napkin.  Jesus  saith 
unto  them,  Loose  him,  and  let  him  go. 

"  Then  many  of  the  Jews  which  came  to 
Mary,  and  had  seen  the  things  which  Jesus 
did,  believed  on  Him." 


l8o         That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

In  this  most  beautiful  story  there  are  one  or 
two  features  which  never  fail  to  touch  our 
hearts.  The  little  verse,  "  Jesus  wept "  is  only 
two  words  long,  but  what  a  comfort  to  think, 
that  just  as  we  pour  out  our  grief  in  tears,  so 
Jesus  loving  His  friends,  wept  with  them  in 
their  hour  of  sore  distress. 

"We  notice  too,  that  Jesus  took  for  granted 
that  His  Father  in  heaven  had  heard  Him  in 
the  prayer  that  He  made  before  Lazarus  came 
forth  from  the  tomb.  When  He  awakened 
Lazarus,  it  was  with  the  command  of  a  King. 
No  wonder  that  those  who  saw  this  strange 
sight  at  once  believed  on  Jesus. 

The  only  ones  who  were  disturbed  and  very 
indignant  at  this  miracle  were  those  bitter  ene- 
mies of  our  Lord,  the  chief  priests  and  Phari- 
sees who  were  jealous  of  the  power  of  Jesus, 
and  of  His  increasing  influence.  They  gath- 
ered themselves  into  a  council  and  said,  "  This 
thing  has  gone  far  enough.  "We  must  stop  it. 
This  man  from  Nazareth  performs  so  many 
miracles  that  there  is  no  knowing  where  He 
will  end.  If  we  let  Him  alone,  before  very 
long  every  one  will  believe  on  Him,  and  the 
Romans  shall  come  and  take  away  both  our 
place  and  nation." 

Whoever  said  this  knew  that  he  was  speak- 
ing falsely  with  the  intention  to  stir  up  a 
feeling  against  Jesus,  for  the  Romans  even 


Lord  if  Thou  Hadst  Been  Here    18 1 

then,  had  taken  possession  of  Judea,  and  the 
nation  paid  tribute  to  Kome,  although  the 
Roman  policy  did  not  interfere  with  the  re- 
ligion of  any  people  whom  they  conquered. 

Caiaphas,  the  high  priest,  boldly  put  forth 
the  idea  that  it  would  be  well  that  Jesus  be 
put  to  death.  "  Ye  know  nothing  at  all,  nor 
consider  that  it  is  expedient  for  us,  that  one 
man  should  die  for  the  people,  and  that  the 
whole  nation  perish  not. 

"  And  this  spake  he  not  of  himself :  but  being 
high  priest  that  year,  he  prophesied  that  Jesus 
should  die  for  that  nation.  And  not  for  that 
nation  only,  but  that  also  he  should  gather  to- 
gether in  one  the  children  of  God  that  were 
scattered  abroad. 

"  Then  from  that  day  forth  they  took  coun- 
sel together  for  to  put  Him  to  death. 

"  And  Jesus  therefore  walked  no  more  openly 
among  the  Jews ;  but  went  thence  into  a 
country  near  to  the  wilderness,  into  a  city 
called  Ephraim,  and  there  continued  with  His 
disciples." 

All  these  wonderful  things  that  we  have 
been  learning  about  our  Lord  took  place  in 
three  little  years.  We  have  now  reached  the 
third  and  last  year  of  Christ's  public  ministry, 
and  we  are  coming  to  the  hour,  when  for  the 
last  time.  He  should  go  up  to  Jerusalem  and 
keep  the  Passover. 


XXIII 

THE  SISTERS  OF  BETHANY 

Jesus  was  on  the  footing  of  a  dear  family 
friend  in  the  home  of  Lazarus  and  his  two  sis- 
ters. He  came  there  when  tired  that  He 
might  rest,  and  He  was  so  sure  of  His  welcome 
that  He  never  needed  to  send  word  beforehand. 
There  was  room  for  Jesus  in  that  Bethany- 
home,  and  He  could  never  find  them  unpre- 
pared to  receive  Him. 

Soon  after  the  raising  of  Lazarus  there  was 
a  joyous  gathering  of  friends  and  kindred  to 
celebrate  his  restoration  to  life.  They  were 
invited  to  a  supper  and  great  pains  were  taken 
to  make  the  supper  worthy  of  the  occasion. 
It  was  a  feast,  and  the  Guest  of  honour  was 
the  Master  who  had  called  back  Lazarus  from 
the  dead.  Never  was  a  feast  so  bright  and 
glad. 

Our  Lord  saw  plainly  just  before  Him  the 
darkness  of  the  cross.  Yet  His  presence  cast 
no  shadow  on  this  home  festival.  Jesus  knew 
how  to  put  His  personal  grief  and  care  in  the 
background  that  He  might  make  others  happy. 

I  have  heard  of  Christians  so  morose  and 
melancholy  that  people  shunned  them.  They 
182 


The  Sisters  of  Bethany  183 

are  not  like  Christ.     He  walked  through  the 
world  with  cheerful  courage. 

"  I  don't  want  to  go  to  heaven  when  I  die," 
said  a  little  fellow.  "Kot  if  grandpapa'll  be 
there!  He'll  keep  on  calling  out  Hush! 
Hush ! " 

When  Jesus  went  to  a  dinner  or  a  supper, 
He  laid  no  spell  of  gloom  on  those  who  sat  at 
the  table.  They  were  only  more  happy  than 
they  had  ever  been  before. 

As  I  have  already  said,  the  sisters  of  Bethany 
were  not  very  much  alike.  Jesus  does  not  ask 
His  friends  to  be  a  uniform  pattern,  like  candles 
run  into  the  same  mould.  He  wants  you  to  be 
yourself,  and  me  to  be  myself.  He  never  chides 
the  daisy  for  not  being  a  tulip,  or  asks  the  lily  to 
turn  into  a  rose.  He  loved  both  sisters  in  the 
Bethany  home  though  one  was  of  the  bustling 
and  peremptory  order  of  women,  and  the  other 
was  silent  and  thoughtful  in  contrast. 

Martha,  the  elder  sister,  was  the  lady  of  the 
house,  the  mistress  and  caretaker.  She  has 
long  been  considered  a  type  of  the  practical 
woman,  the  woman  of  affairs,  the  woman  who 
knows  how  to  manage  servants,  and  entertain 
company,  and  spread  the  table  with  delicate 
abundance.  In  Martha's  house,  let  it  stand 
where  it  may,  everything  is  tidy.  Dust  does 
not  lurk  in  corners,  nor  do  cobwebs  hang  from 
the  wall.     Martha  keeps  her  closets  in  order, 


184  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

and  exacts  scrupulous  attention  to  system 
from  all  beneath  her  roof. 

People  sometimes  speak  a  little  slightingly 
of  Martha  of  Bethany,  because  Jesus  once 
tenderly  reproved  her,  saying,  "Martha, 
Martha,  thou  art  careful  and  troubled  about 
many  things."  Just  as  many  a  housekeeper 
that  we  know  is  cumbered  or  borne  down  by 
service.  Martha  was  at  times  over-particular, 
over-anxious,  and  over-wearied,  so  that  some 
of  life's  best  things  passed  her  by,  while  she 
was  occupied  with  second-best  things.  But 
she  was,  nevertheless,  a  good  and  gracious 
woman,  and  a  loyal  friend  of  the  Master,  His 
devoted  hostess  and  conscientious  supporter. 

Mary,  the  sister  of  Martha,  was  of  a  differ- 
ent type.  She  was  dreamy  and  imaginative, 
what  we  call  a  mystic.  It  did  not  matter  to 
her  whether  the  bread  was  baked  on  the  coals 
to  the  right  tint  of  brown,  nor  whether  the 
meal  was  ground  at  the  moment  it  was 
wanted.  Her  pleasure  was  to  sit  at  Jesus' 
feet,  and  listen  while  He  talked,  drinking  in 
His  words  of  wisdom,  and  forgetting  the 
whole  world  in  the  bliss  of  loving  Him. 
"  Her  eyes  were  homes  of  silent  prayer." 

"Mary,"  said  the  Lord,  "has  chosen  that 
good  part  that  shall  not  be  taken  away  from 
her." 

We  find  it  hard  to  understand  but  the  real 


The  Sisters  of  Bethany  185 

things  are  generally  the  things  we  cannot  see. 
The  real  things  are  pity  and  love  and  truth 
and  generosity ;  they  outlast  the  chairs  and 
tables,  the  works  of  men's  hands.  The  things 
that  are  seen  are  temporal,  the  things  that  are 
not  seen  are  eternal. 

Mary's  whole  fortune  was  invested  in  one 
treasure.  Men  have  invested  a  fortune  before 
now  in  a  pearl  or  a  diamond,  a  rare  cup,  a 
cameo,  a  picture;  some  precious  thing  they 
coveted. 

Mary  had  a  jar  of  fragrant  ointment,  costly 
and  rare.  It  was  her  one  possession,  most 
valuable,  most  beautiful. 

Jesus  was  sitting  at  meat  when  she  broke 
this  jar  of  fragrance,  and  poured  it  on  the 
Master's  head.  There  were  churlish  look- 
ers-on who  murmured  at  Mary's  extravagance. 
"Why  break  it?"  they  said.  "Why  not 
scatter  a  few  drops  of  the  perfume  ?  "  "  Why 
spend  it  all  in  an  instant  ?  " 

Their  wrath  growing  bolder  they  vented  it 
in  the  hearing  of  the  Lord  Himself. 

"  It  might  have  been  sold,"  they  said,  "  and 
the  price  of  it  given  to  the  poor." 

Jesus  heard  them  and  smiled. 

"  The  poor  ye  have  always  with  you,"  He 
said,  "  but  Me  ye  have  not  always.  This 
woman  hath  come  beforehand  to  anoint  My 
body    for    its    burial.     Wheresoever    in    the 


l86         That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

world  this  story  shall  be  told,  it  shall  be  a 
memorial  of  her." 

"  Foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the  air 
have  nests,  but  the  Son  of  Man  hath  not 
where  to  lay  His  head." 

Yet  when  these  friends  at  Bethany  came 
out  to  greet  Him,  they  gave  Him  of  their  best. 
Our  Master  knew  the  pleasantness  there  is  in 
being  a  guest  where  friendship  is  unstinted. 

There  is  a  profound  truth  in  that  sentence 
of  Jesus,  about  the  poor  who  are  always  with 
us,  and  the  constant  commonplace  occasions 
when  we  may  do  them  good,  and  the  other 
unusual  occasion  when  we  may  do  some  big 
and  splendid  deed  for  Him.  We  never  know 
when  we  may  have  it  in  our  power  to 
break  our  alabaster  box  that  Jesus  may  be 
honoured. 

Perhaps  among  those  who  are  reading  this 
page,  there  is  a  girl  who  is  laid  aside  from  the 
activity  of  life.  She  cannot  do  much  for  her 
King.  One  such  girl  I  think  of,  who  tripping 
down  the  village  street  one  day,  stumbled  and 
fell.  She  has  not  walked  since,  though  years 
have  passed.  Patient,  winsome,  cheery,  but 
chained  to  a  chair  and  a  couch,  she  sits  beside 
her  bit  of  a  window,  and  looks  out  on  the 
country  road.  For  each  passer  she  has  a 
smile.  Girls  run  in  on  their  way  from  school 
to  chat  with  her,  and  tell  her  their  little  trials 


The  Sisters  of  Bethany  187 

or  triumphs.  Hard-working  matrons  slip  into 
the  house  in  the  gloaming  that  they  may  rest 
in  the  room  where  this  young  girl  sits,  suffer- 
ing but  never  complaining. 

Little  things  please  her.  A  flower  gives  her 
exquisite  delight.  A  poem  cut  from  a  news- 
paper stirs  the  song  in  her  heart.  In  her  cease- 
less gentleness  and  quiet  loveliness,  this  young 
girl  who  is  a  shut-in,  breaks  day  by  day  her 
alabaster  box,  as  Mary  did,  that  her  Master 
may  be  glorified. 

As  Martha  did,  as  Mary  did,  in  that  Bethany 
home,  shall  not  we  ceaselessly  serve  Jesus, 
and  try  to  entertain  Him  in  the  Bethany  of 
our  hearts  ? 


XXIV 
HOSANNA  TO  THE  SON  OF  DAVID 

The  thought  of  the  coming  kingdom 
pressed  continually  upon  the  minds  of  the  dis- 
ciples. We  see  this  as  we  find  that  again  and 
again  they  returned  to  that  question  in  their 
talks  with  Jesus.  Peter  said  one  day,  "  Be- 
hold we  have  forsaken  all,  and  followed  Thee. 
"What  shall  we  have  therefore  ? "  Jesus  held 
out  no  promise  of  worldly  reward,  but  told 
him  that  when  the  Son  of  Man  should  sit  on 
the  throne  of  His  glory  in  Heaven,  they  should 
find  their  reward  then,  and  that  every  one 
who  had  forsaken  houses,  or  brethren,  or 
sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,  or  wife,  or  chil- 
dren, or  lands,  for  the  Name  of  Jesus,  should 
receive  a  hundredfold,  and  inherit  everlasting 
life. 

The  mother  of  Zebedee's  children,  with  a 
mother's  love  for  her  sons,  one  day  asked  of 
Jesus  a  certain  thing.  "  "What  wilt  thou  ?  "  He 
graciously  said.  She  answered,  "  Grant  that 
these  my  two  sons  may  sit  the  one  on  Thy 
right  hand  and  the  other  on  Thy  left  in  Thy 
Kingdom." 

Jesus  looked  at  her  sorrowfully.     Her  sons 


Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David      189 

were  James  and  John  who  so  often  accom- 
panied the  Lord  on  His  journeys  to  and  fro, 
and  who  shared  so  much  of  His  confidence. 

He  said  unto  them,  "  Ye  know  not  what  ye 
ask.  Are  ye  able  to  drink  of  the  cup  that  I 
shall  drink  of,  and  to  be  baptized  with  the 
baptism  that  I  am  baptized  with  ?  They  said 
to  Him,  We  are  able. 

Jesus  said  to  them,  "  Ye  shall  drink  indeed 
of  My  cup,  and  be  baptized  with  the  baptism 
that  I  am  baptized  with:  but  to  sit  on  My 
right  hand,  and  on  My  left,  is  not  Mine  to 
give,  but  it  shall  be  given  to  them  for  whom 
it  is  prepared  of  My  Father  in  heaven." 

Naturally  the  other  apostles  were  very  in- 
dignant at  the  ambition  of  the  two  brothers, 
but  Jesus  took  that  occasion  to  give  them  all 
a  lesson  in  humility.  He  said,  "  Whosoever 
will  be  chief  among  you,  let  him  be  your  serv- 
ant, 

"  Even  as  the  Son  of  Man  came  not  to  be 
ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give 
His  life  a  ransom  for  many." 

In  the  lives  of  James  and  John  the  prophecy 
of  Jesus  was  fulfilled,  for  James  was  the  first 
to  lose  his  life  for  Christ's  sake  among  the 
twelve  apostles,  all  of  whom  except  John  died 
by  a  violent  death,  witnessing  with  their  blood, 
the  love  they  had  for  the  Lord.  John  lived  to 
be  a  very  old  man,  and  tradition  says,  that 


190  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

when  he  grew  too  infirm  to  preach,  he  would 
be  carried  to  church  and  there  extending  his 
hands  over  all  the  congregation  would  say, 
"  Little  children,  love  one  another."  He  it  was 
to  whom  was  given  the  revelation  of  heaven, 
which  closes  the  New  Testament. 

Going  down  the  Jericho  road,  a  great  crowd 
of  people  followed  Jesus,  and  there  were  those 
in  the  crowd  on  whom  He  had  compassion, 
and  on  whom  He  wrought  miracles  of  healing. 
"When  they  drew  nigh  to  Jericho  and  had 
reached  Bethphage  near  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
Jesus  said  to  His  disciples, 

"  Go  into  the  village  over  against  you,  and 
straightway  ye  shall  find  an  ass  tied,  and  a 
colt  with  her:  loose  them:  and  bring  them 
unto  Me. 

"  And  if  any  man  say  aught  unto  you,  ye 
shall  say.  The  Lord  hath  need  of  them ;  and 
straightway  he  will  send  them. 

"  All  this  was  done,  that  it  might  be  fulfilled 
which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet,  saying, 

"  Tell  ye  the  daughter  of  Zion,  Behold,  thy 
King  Cometh  unto  thee,  meek  and  sitting  upon 
an  ass,  and  a  colt  the  foal  of  an  ass. 

"And  the  disciples  went,  and  did  as  Jesus 
commanded  them,  and  brought  the  ass  and 
the  colt,  and  put  on  them  their  clothes,  and 
they  set  Him  thereon. 

"  And  a  very  great  multitude  spread  their 


Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David      igi 

garments  in  the  way;  others  cut  down 
branches  from  the  trees,  and  strewed  them  in 
the  way. 

"  And  the  multitudes  that  went  before,  and 
that  followed,  cried,  saying,  Hosanna  to  the 
Son  of  David ;  Blessed  is  He  that  cometh  in 
the  name  of  the  Lord :  Hosanna  in  the 
highest." 

This  is  what  we  call  Jesus'  Triumphal  Entry 
into  Jerusalem.  This  is  the  one  time  when  He 
came  into  the  city  riding  as  a  prince  might 
ride,  escorted  by  enthusiastic  crowds  of  people 
and  by  children,  calling,  "  Hosanna  to  the  Son 
of  David !  "  In  that  great  city  filled  with 
strangers  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe, 
there  was  stir  and  agitation,  and  people  called 
out,  "  Who  is  this  ?  "  and  others  said,  "  This  is 
Jesus  the  Prophet  of  Nazareth  of  Galilee ! " 

We  shall  find  that  the  crowd  was  not  dif- 
ferent in  its  caprice,  from  every  other  crowd, 
for  only  a  little  later  the  same  voices  that 
called  "  Hosanna,"  were  calling  "  Crucify 
Him,"  around  the  same  Nazarene. 

About  this  time,  Jesus  entered  the  temple, 
and  there  found  that  a  great  many  people  were 
making  it  a  market-place,  filling  its  several 
courts  with  the  clamour  of  trade,  and  buying 
and  selling  and  making  money  within  sound 
of  the  stately  ritual  of  Hebrew  worship. 
Jesus  was  moved  with  resentment  when  He 


192         That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

saw  His  Father's  House  thus  profaned.  And 
He  cast  out  those  who  sold  and  bought  in  the 
temple,  and  overthrew  the  tables  of  the  money- 
changers, and  with  a  whip  of  braided  cords 
drove  the  people  out  of  the  place,  saying,  "  It 
is  written,  My  house  shall  be  called  the  house 
of  prayer,  but  ye  have  made  it  a  den  of 
thieves." 

The  chief  priests  and  scribes  were  very 
angry  both  that  Jesus  had  cleansed  the 
Temple,  where  no  doubt  they  had  made  per- 
quisites of  their  own,  and  that  the  children 
should  have  followed  Him,  saying,  "  Hosanna 
to  the  Son  of  David." 

Turning  to  Him,  they  said,  "Have  you 
heard  what  these  say  ?  "  And  Jesus  answered, 
"  Yes,  have  you  never  read.  Out  of  the  mouth 
of  babes  and  sucklings  thou  hast  perfected 
praise  ?  " 

The  chief  priests  asked  Him  by  whose 
authority  He  did  the  wonderful  things,  and 
who  gave  Him  authority  ? 

He  said,  "  I  also  will  ask  you  a  question : 
The  baptism  of  John,  whence  was  it  ?  from 
heaven,  or  of  men  ?  " 

"  And  they  reasoned  with  themselves.  If  we 
say  from  heaven,  He  will  say  unto  us,  "Why 
did  ye  not  then  believe  him  ? 

"  But  if  we  shall  say.  Of  men ;  we  fear  the 
people  :  for  all  hold  John  as  a  prophet. 


Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David      193 

"  They  answered  Jesus,  and  said,  We  can- 
not tell.  And  He  said  unto  them,  Neither  tell 
I  you  by  what  authority  I  do  these  things." 

It  was  Christ's  custom  to  teach  by  parables, 
and  at  this  time  He  spoke  a  number  of  these  in 
the  hearing  of  the  chief  priests.  One  of  the 
most  remarkable  was  that  of  a  certain  house- 
holder who  planted  a  vineyard,  hedged  it 
round  about,  digged  a  wine-press  in  it,  built  a 
tower,  let  it  out  to  husbandmen,  and  went 
into  a  far  country. 

"And  when  the  time  of  the  fruit  drew 
near,  he  sent  his  servants  to  the  husbandmen, 
that  they  might  receive  the  fruits  of  it. 

"  And  the  husbandmen  took  his  servants, 
and  beat  one,  and  killed  another,  and  stoned 
another. 

"  Again  he  sent  other  servants  more  than 
the  first :  and  they  did  unto  them  likewise. 

"  But  last  of  all,  he  sent  unto  them  his  son, 
saying,  They  will  reverence  my  son.  But 
when  the  husbandmen  saw  the  son,  they  said 
among  themselves,  This  is  the  heir :  come  let 
us  kill  him,  and  let  us  seize  on  his  inheri- 
tance. 

"  And  they  caught  him,  and  cast  him  out  of 
the  vineyard,  and  slew  him. 

"  And  when  the  lord  therefore  of  the  vine- 
yard Cometh,  what  will  he  do  unto  those 
husbandmen  ? 


194  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"They  say  unto  Him,  He  will  miserably 
destroy  those  wicked  men,  and  will  let  out  his 
vineyard  unto  other  husbandmen,  who  shall 
render  him  the  fruits  in  their  season. 

"  Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Did  ye  never  read  in 
the  scriptures.  The  stone  which  the  builders 
rejected,  the  same  is  become  the  head  of  the 
corner :  this  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  it  is 
marvellous  in  our  eyes  ? 

"  Therefore  say  I  unto  you.  The  kingdom  of 
God  shall  be  taken  from  you,  and  given  to  a 
nation  bringing  forth  the  fruits  thereof." 

"When  the  chief  priests  heard  the  parable, 
they  knew  that  the  Saviour  spoke  of  them. 
That  it  was  the  Jewish  nation  that  had  been 
the  vineyard  planted  by  the  Lord ;  that  the 
prophets  who  had  been  sent  to  it  successively, 
the  prophets  and  preachers  and  teachers  were 
the  messengers  who  had  been  ill  treated,  and 
that  now  in  the  last  days  when  One  had  come 
who  came  with  authority  as  if  from  God  Him- 
self, they  were  rejecting  Him. 

These  men  were  not  dull-witted,  but  they 
were  filled  with  hate  and  contempt. 

They  did  not  yet  dare  to  take  Christ's  life 
because  they  still  feared  the  people.  They 
were  calmly  and  secretly  stirring  up  public 
opinion,  so  that  it  might  be  at  the  right  time, 
ripe  to  be  used  against  Jesus. 

Still  another  parable  He  spoke,  comparing 


Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David      195 

the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  to  a  certain  king  who 
made  a  marriage  for  his  son. 

"  And  he  sent  forth  his  servants  to  call  them 
that  were  bidden  to  the  wedding :  and  they 
would  not  come. 

"  Again,  he  sent  forth  other  servants,  say- 
ing, Tell  them  which  are  bidden,  Behold,  I 
have  prepared  my  dinner :  my  oxen  and  my 
fatlings  are  killed,  and  all  things  are  ready : 
come  unto  the  marriage. 

"  But  they  made  light  of  it,  and  went  their 
ways,  one  to  his  farm,  another  to  his  mer- 
chandise. 

"And  the  remnant  took  his  servants,  and 
entreated  them  spitefully  and  slew  them. 

"  But  when  the  king  heard  thereof,  he  was 
wroth :  and  he  sent  forth  his  armies,  and 
destroyed  these  murderers,  and  burned  up 
their  city. 

"  Then  said  he  to  his  servants,  The  wedding 
is  ready,  but  they  which  were  bidden  were  not 
worthy. 

"  Go  ye  therefore  into  the  highways,  and  as 
many  as  ye  shall  find,  bid  to  the  marriage. 

"  So  those  servants  went  out  into  the  high- 
ways, and  gathered  together  all  as  many  as 
they  found,  both  bad  and  good  :  and  the  wed- 
ding was  furnished  with  guests." 

Now  comes  the  sad  part,  the  part  with  the 
heartache. 


196  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  And  when  the  king  came  in  to  see  the 
guests,  he  saw  there  a  man  who  had  not  on  a 
wedding  garment : 

"  And  he  saith  unto  him,  Friend,  how  camest 
thou  in  hither,  not  having  a  wedding  garment  ? 
and  he  was  speechless. 

"  Then  said  the  king  to  the  servants.  Bind 
him  hand  and  foot,  and  take  him  away,  and 
cast  him  into  outer  darkness :  there  shall  be 
weeping  and  gnashing  of  teeth, 

"  For  many  are  called,  but  few  are  chosen." 

Again  the  Pharisees  made  the  application 
to  themselves,  and  again  they  were  angry. 
They  tried  after  this,  to  entrap  Jesus  in  a  very 
cunning  way,  so  that  they  might  get  the 
Koman  Government  to  arrest  Him  for  trea- 
son. They  sent  certain  people  to  Him,  say- 
ing, "  Is  it  lawful  to  give  tribute  to  Cassar  or 
not?" 

Jesus  reading  their  hearts  said,  "  "Why 
tempt  ye  Me,  ye  hypocrites  ?  Show  Me  the 
tribute  money." 

And  when  they  brought  to  Him  the  Eoman 
coin  in  which  tribute  was  paid,  He  said, 
"  Whose  is  this  image  and  superscription  ?  " 

They  answered,  "  Caesar's." 

Then  said  He  unto  them,  "  Eender  unto 
CaBsar  the  things  that  are  Caesar's,  and  unto 
God,  the  things  that  are  God's." 

A  lawyer  next  came  tempting  Him,  asking, 


Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David      197 

"  Master,  which  is  the  great  commandment  in 
the  law  ?  " 

Jesus  said  unto  him,  "  Thou  shalt  love  the 
Lord  thy  God,  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all 
thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind. 

"  This  is  the  first  and  great  commandment. 
And  the  second  is  like  unto  it,  Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself. 

"  On  these  two  commandments  hang  all  the 
law  and  the  prophets." 

From  that  day,  they  durst  ask  Him  no 
more  questions. 


XXV 

SOME  PARABLES  OF  JESUS 

A  PARABLE  is  a  story  of  which  the  kernel 
is  a  great  truth.  Jesus  was  fond  of  teaching 
by  the  method  of  a  story.  The  listeners  were 
like  ourselves.  We  never  grow  weary  from 
our  earliest  days  of  stories  that  are  told  by  the 
fireside,  on  the  ferry-boat,  in  the  train,  or  in 
the  pulpit. 

"When  I  was  a  child  my  father,  just  before 
bedtime,  would  tell  me  in  the  dancing  fire- 
light, stories  from  the  Bible,  stories  of 
Joseph  and  Samuel  and  David  and  Daniel,  and 
of  the  Child  of  Bethlehem.  Sometimes  he 
chose  Old  Testament,  sometimes  New  Testa- 
ment scenes,  and  often  he  related  the  parables 
of  Christ.  And  before  good-night  was  said, 
he  would  sing  his  favourite  hymn  that  comes 
back  to  me  over  the  years. 

*'  Oh,  how  happy  are  they 
Who  the  Saviour  obey, 
And  have  laid  tip  their  treasure  above! 
Oh,  what  tongue  can  express 
The  sweet  comfort  and  blias 
Of  a  soul  in  its  earliest  love." 
198 


Some  Parables  of  Jesus  199 

Another  hymn  clamoured  for  by  the  house- 
hold group  was 

"  Begone  unbelief,  my  Saviour  is  near, 
And  for  my  relief  He  will  surely  appear." 

I  cannot  begin  in  this  book  to  tell  you  again 
the  many  parables  that  Jesus  spoke  in  the  ears 
of  the  people  :  you  will  find  them  in  the  pages 
of  the  New  Testament.  We  will  look  only  at 
some  that  are  interwoven  for  all  with  mem- 
ories of  childhood's  hour  of  joy  in  childhood's 
home  of  love. 

There  is  the  Parable  of  the  Ten  Yirgins. 
Five  were  wise  and  five  were  foolish.  All  of 
them  were  friends  of  a  bride,  and  had  been 
invited  to  form  part  of  her  wedding  proces- 
sion. A  bridesmaid  always  tries  to  behave  so 
that  she  can  assist  in  making  the  bridal  party 
perfect.  In  the  East  manners  and  customs  are 
different  from  ours,  and  the  bride  in  great 
state  and  dignity,  accompanied  by  a  throng  of 
attendants,  leaves  her  own  home  and  goes 
forth  to  meet  the  bridegroom. 

The  ten  virgins  were  ready  but  the  bride- 
groom was  delayed,  and  while  they  waited  for 
him,  they  all  fell  asleep,  the  wise  and  the 
foolish  alike.  At  midnight  a  cry  rang  through 
the  street.  "  Behold,  the  bridegroom  cometh  ! 
Behold,  the  bridegroom  cometh  !  Go  ye  out 
to  meet  him." 


200  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

Hurriedly  the  virgins  started  from  their 
slumber.  Hurriedly  they  trimmed  their 
lamps.  The  wise  virgins  had  taken  with  them 
a  supply  of  oil,  and  they  filled  the  cup  in 
which  the  wick  burned,  and  went  joyfully  on- 
ward to  meet  the  bridegroom. 

The  foolish  virgins  had  forgotten  to  take 
oil  and  their  lamps  were  empty.  They 
reached  out  their  hands  to  the  others,  and 
cried  beseechingly,  "  Give  us  of  your  oil,  for 
our  lamps  are  gone  out." 

"We  cannot,  we  would  if  we  could,"  ex- 
claimed the  wise  virgins,  "  we  have  only 
enough  for  our  own  lamps  and  none  to  spare. 
If  we  divided  our  lamps  would  go  out, 
and  there  would  be  nobody  to  wait  on  the 
bride." 

So  the  wise  virgins,  holding  aloft  their 
burning  lamps,  passed  in  with  the  bride  and 
the  bridegroom  to  the  marriage  supper,  and 
the  door  was  shut. 

Stumbling  along  in  the  darkness,  the  foolish 
virgins  battered  on  that  shut  door,  imploring 
that  they  might  be  admitted.  But  the  bride- 
groom looking  out,  said,  "  Who  may  you  be, 
thus  storming  at  my  gate  ?  You  cannot  come 
in.  You  are  no  friends  of  mine.  I  never 
knew  you." 

Tennyson  has  some  beautiful  lines  on  these 
foolish  virgins.     The  little  novice  sings  them 


Some  Parables  of  Jesus  201 

to  poor  foolish  Guinevere,  who  knows  too  well 
their  inner  meaning  of  loss  and  pain. 

"Late,  late,  so  late!  and  dark  the  night  and  chill! 
Late,  late,  so  late!  but  we  can  enter  still; 
Too  late,  too  late  still,  ye  cannot  enter  now. 

"  No  light  had  we:  for  that  we  do  repent. 
And  learning  this,  the  bridegroom  will  relent; 
Too  late,  too  late!  Ye  cannot  enter  now. 

"  No  light;  80  late;  and  dark  and  chill  the  night! 
O  let  us  in  that  we  may  find  the  light! 
Too  late,  too  late,  ye  cannot  enter  now. 

"  Have  we  not  heard  the  bridegroom  is  so  sweet, 
O  let  us  in,  though  late,  to  kiss  his  feet! 
No,  no,  too  late!  ye  cannot  enter  now." 

The  explanation  of  this  parable  is,  that 
Christ  is  the  Bridegroom,  and  His  bride  is  the 
Church.  The  wise  and  the  foolish  virgins  all 
appear  to  belong  to  the  Church,  but  some  of 
them  have  no  real  love  for  the  Lord  in  their 
hearts.  They  have  been  contented  to  confess 
Him,  with  no  true  loyalty  to  His  Name.  They 
are  the  foolish  virgins.  They  have  hours  and 
hours  in  which  they  may  retrieve  their  error, 
go  to  the  merchant  and  buy  oil  for  their  lamps. 
They  could  have  this  oil  for  the  mere  asking, 
for  it  would  come  from  the  same  shop  of 
which  Isaiah  said,  "  Come  ye  who  have  no 
money,  buy  wine  and  milk  without  money  and 


202  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

without  price."  But  light-hearted  and  friv- 
olous, they  cared  nothing  for  the  bride  and 
nothing  for  the  bridegroom,  till  the  very  day 
of  grace  was  gone. 

They  had  no  ground  for  complaint  when 
they  were  excluded  from  the  marriage-supper. 
The  guests  were  at  the  table,  the  feast  was 
prepared,  but  the  bridegroom  said,  "  Go  away. 
I  never  knew  you^ 

The  lesson  of  this  parable  is  for  us,  as  for 
those  who  heard  it  first.  Shall  we  belong  to 
the  company  of  the  foolish  virgins,  or  with  the 
wise  virgins,  have  our  lamps  trimmed  and 
burning,  with  plenty  of  oil,  whenever  we  shall 
hear  Him  coming  ? 

"  God  calling  yet,  and  shall  I  never  hearken? 
But  still  earth's  witcheries  my  spirit  darken, 
This  passing  life,  these  passing  joys,  all  flying, 
And  still  my  soul  in  dreamy  slumbers  lying. 

"  God  calling  yet !  Loud  at  my  door  He's  knocking, 
And  I,  my  heart,  my  ear,  still  firmer  locking  ; 
He  still  is  ready,  willing  to  receive  me, 
Is  waiting  now,  but  ah  !  He  soon  may  leave  me." 

The  parable  of  the  talents  is  so  plain  and 
simple  that  the  youngest  child  can  read  its 
meaning.  A  certain  rich  man,  going  from 
home,  left  with  his  servants  certain  things  to 
be  cared  for.  To  one  he  gave  five  talents,  to 
another  two,  to  another  one.     When  after  a 


Some  Parables  of  Jesus  203 

long  time  he  returned,  he  sent  for  his  servants. 
The  one  to  whom  the  five  talents  had  been 
given,  had  so  used  them  that  he  brought  ten  to 
the  original  owner,  and  the  owner  was  very 
much  pleased. 

"  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  servant,"  he 
said,  "  Thou  has  been  faithful  over  a  few 
things,  I  will  make  thee  ruler  over  many- 
things.  Enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy 
Lord." 

The  man  to  whom  two  talents  had  been  en- 
trusted brought  in  his  report :  he  had  so  used 
them  that  he  had  gained  four  talents,  doubling 
their  value. 

His  lord  said  unto  him,  "  Well  done,  good 
and  faithful  servant.  Thou  hast  been  faithful 
over  a  few  things,  I  will  make  thee  ruler  over 
many  things.  Enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy 
Lord." 

But  the  servant  who  had  been  given  the 
one  talent,  brought  it  back.  He  had  not  spent 
it  on  himself,  or  run  away  with  it  to  an  unknown 
land.  He  had  simply  folded  it  in  a  napkin, 
buried  it  in  the  earth,  and  never  bothered  his 
head  about  the  matter.  In  excuse  he  avowed 
that  he  knew  his  lord  was  strict  and  austere, 
and  that  he  was  afraid  he  might  lose  the  talent 
if  he  tried  in  any  way  to  use  it. 

The  lord  was  very  angry.  "You  wicked 
and  slothful  servant,"  he  said  in  an  awe-inspir- 


204  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

ing  voice,  "  knowing  what  you  did  of  me,  you 
yet  dared  to  let  this  talent  gather  rust,  when 
it  could  at  least  been  put  in  the  bank,  where  it 
would  have  gained  interest.  Take  from  this 
man  the  talent,"  he  added,  "  and  give  it  to  him 
that  hath  ten  talents." 

"For  unto  every  one  that  hath  shall  be 
given,  and  he  shall  have  abundance,  but  from 
him  that  hath  not  shall  be  taken  away  even 
that  which  he  hath." 

In  this  world  of  ours  this  last  utterance  of 
the  Lord  is  verified  every  day.  Take  the  stu- 
dent who  works  hard  over  languages  and  science 
and  mathematics.  "Whatever  he  gains  by  dili- 
gence, is  presently  multiplied.  Honours 
cluster  on  the  head  of  one  who  has  honours 
already.  Take  the  girl  who  plays  with  skill  on 
organ  or  piano.  She  doubles  and  trebles  her 
talent  by  use. 

Take  the  great  men  of  the  ages,  Washing- 
ton, Lincoln,  Grant,  Lee,  Gladstone ;  they  have 
been  men  with  five  talents,  and  so  have  they 
used  them  that  God  made  their  talents  ten. 
Illustrations  of  this  truth  are  in  every  school- 
room, every  college,  every  history,  every  land. 

Give,  and  it  shall  be  given  unto  you,  good 
measure,  pressed  down  and  running  over,  but 
— you  must  first  have  something  to  give.  The 
man  with  one  talent  atrophied  his  powers, 
made  them  what  your  right  hand  would  be  if 


Some  Parables  of  Jesus  205" 

you  tied  it  at  your  side  for  six  months  and 
never  allowed  it  to  hold  a  pen  or  a  hoe  or  a 
sword  or  a  hammer. 

Here  are  some  words  of  Jesus,  worth  think- 
ing of  by  you  and  me,  for  they  show  how  the 
present  of  our  toiling  and  striving  is  to  be 
clasped  and  finished  by  the  awards  of  a  surely 
coming  future  day. 

"  When  the  Son  of  Man  shall  come  in  His 
glory,  and  all  the  holy  angels  with  Him,  then 
shall  He  sit  upon  the  throne  of  His  glory.  And 
before  Him  shall  be  gathered  all  nations ;  and 
He  shall  separate  them  one  from  another,  as  a 
shepherd  divideth  his  sheep  from  the  goats. 
And  He  shall  set  the  sheep  on  His  right  hand, 
but  the  goats  on  the  left. 

"Then  shall  the  King  say  unto  them  on 
His  right  hand.  Come,  ye  blessed  of  My 
Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world  :  For  I  was 
an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  Me  meat :  I  was 
thirsty,  and  ye  gave  Me  drink  :  I  was  a  stranger, 
and  ye  took  Me  in :  naked  and  ye  clothed  Me : 
I  was  sick,  and  ye  visited  Me  ;  I  was  in  prison, 
and  ye  came  unto  Me. 

"  Then  shall  the  righteous  answer  Him,  say- 
ing, Lord,  When  saw  we  Thee  an  hungered, 
and  fed  Thee  ?  or  thirsty,  and  gave  Thee 
drink  ?  When  saw  we  Thee  a  stranger,  and 
took  Thee  in  ?   or  naked,  and  clothed  Thee  ? 


2o6         That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

Or  when  saw  we  Thee  sick,  or  in  prison,  and 
came  unto  Thee  ? 

"  And  the  King  shall  answer  and  say  unto 
them,  Yerily,  I  say  unto  you,  Inasmuch  as  ye 
have  done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these 
My  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  Me. 

"  Then  shall  He  say  unto  them  on  the  left 
hand.  Depart  from  Me,  ye  cursed,  into  ever- 
lasting fire,  prepared  for  the  devil  and  his 
angels  :  For  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave 
Me  no  meat :  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  Me 
no  drink  :  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  Me 
not  in:  naked  and  ye  clothed  Me  not:  sick 
and  in  prison,  and  ye  visited  Me  not. 

"Then  shall  they  also  answer  Him,  say- 
ing. Lord,  when  saw  we  Thee  an  hungered,  or 
athirst,  or  a  stranger,  or  naked,  or  sick,  or  in 
prison,  and  did  not  minister  unto  Thee  ? 

"  Then  shall  He  answer  them,  saying,  Yerily 
I  say  unto  you.  Inasmuch  as  ye  did  it  not  to 
one  of  the  least  of  these,  ye  did  it  not  to  Me. 

"  And  these  shall  go  away  into  everlasting 
punishment:  but  the  righteous  into  life 
eternal." 


XXYI 

THE  LAST  SUPPER 

Many  a  time  had  Jesus  and  His  chosen  dis- 
ciples taken  a  meal  together.  The  twelve 
who  had  the  great  privilege  of  being  in  His 
company  and  sharing  His  daily  life,  were  as  a 
little  family  of  which  He  was  the  head.  They 
had  probably  kept  the  Passover  before  this  as 
a  group  of  friends  might,  but  on  this  third 
year  of  Christ's  ministry,  they  felt  as  we  do 
when  some  great  sorrow  is  hanging  over  our 
home  circle.  For  there  was  a  feeling  of  change 
in  the  air.  The  mutterings  of  the  crowd  were 
growing  fierce,  like  the  growl  of  an  angry  beast, 
or  the  rumble  of  distant  thunder.  That  roar 
of  the  mob,  which  none  who  have  heard  it 
ever  forget,  was  soon  to  blot  out  the  remem- 
bered music  of  the  children's  sweet  hosannas. 

Jesus  was  very  calm  in  these  days.  His 
countenance  more  heavenly  in  its  peace  than 
ever  before.  "When  the  disciples  asked  the 
Master  where  they  should  go  to  eat  the  Pass- 
over He  directed  them  to  enter  the  city,  and 
told  them  they  would  meet  a  friend  of  His,  who 
would  show  them  a  large  upper  room  where 
they  might  be  undisturbed.  Jesus  knew  that 
207 


2o8  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

He  had  friends  who  were  ready  to  do  Him  a 
service. 

As  the  twelve  sat  around  the  table,  reclining 
on  a  couch  as  was  the  Eastern  fashion,  there 
was  one,  dearer  than  the  rest  and  more  inti- 
mate, who  leaned  on  Jesus'  breast.  He  was 
the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,  who  was  to 
Him  the  greatest  comfort  along  the  sorrowful 
way,  and  the  greatest  joy  in  the  hours  of  in- 
creasing darkness. 

The  last  supper  would  not  have  been  so 
very  sad  if  all  had  been  loyal.  Earth  has  no 
tolerance  for  a  traitor,  and  in  that  band  of 
twelve,  there  was  one  who  had  been  per- 
suaded by  the  wicked  priests  and  scribes  to 
betray  Jesus,  and  put  Him  into  their  hands, 
won  to  this  infamy  by  a  promise  of  money. 
Judas  had  the  bag  we  are  told,  and  was  the 
treasurer  of  the  little  band.  His  greed  for 
gain  had  obscured  from  his  view  the  vision  of 
the  Master's  face,  and  the  friendship  of  years 
was  as  nothing  to  his  sordid  and  miserly  soul. 

The  meal  was  very  simple,  only  the  bread 
and  wine  of  the  country,  and  as  it  progressed 
Jesus  told  the  disciples  that  one  of  them  would 
almost  immediately  betray  Him,  and  surrender 
Him  to  His  foes.  Imagine  how  Judas  must 
have  felt.  Dumb  amazement  and  consterna- 
tion at  first  fell  on  the  group,  but  they  rallied. 
"  Lord,  is  it  I  ?  "  mournfully  asked  one  and 


The  Last  Supper  209 

another,  and  "  Lord,  who  is  it  ? "  asked  the 
one  whose  head  was  pillowed  on  Jesus'  bosom. 

He  whose  conscience  convicted  him  of  a 
guilty  purpose,  crept  out  into  the  darkness. 
He  could  not  stay  where  those  eyes  of  Jesus' 
were  piercing  into  his  very  soul, 

Jesus  had  said  over  and  over,  so  that  the 
words  sound  like  the  tolling  of  a  great  bell, 
"  Mine  hour  is  not  yet  come  !  " 

Now  He  knew  that  His  hour  had  come,  the 
hour  for  which  He  had  entered  this  world. 

To  me  it  is  one  of  the  most  terrible  and 
tragic  features  of  the  last  supper  that  the 
traitor  ate  of  it  before  he  went  to  finish  his 
treachery.  He  was  just  as  bad  then,  as  he 
was  later  when  he  took  the  thirty  pieces  of 
silver  into  his  dishonoured  hand.  An  evil 
purpose  in  the  heart  is  as  shameful  and  as  vile 
as  an  evil  action  committed. 

Jesus  sat  down  with  the  twelve. 

"  And  He  said  unto  them,  With  desire  I 
have  desired  to  eat  this  passover  with  you  be- 
fore I  suffer.  For  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not 
any  more  eat  thereof,  until  it  be  fulfilled  in 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

"  And  He  took  the  cup,  and  gave  thanks, 
and  said,  Take  this,  and  divide  it  among  your- 
selves :  For  I  say  unto  you  I  will  not  drink  of 
the  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  the  Kingdom  of 
God  shall  come. 


210  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  And  He  took  bread  and  gave  thanks,  and 
brake  it,  and  gave  unto  them,  saying,  This  is 
My  body  which  is  given  for  you :  this  do  in 
remembrance  of  Me. 

"  Likewise  also  the  cup  after  supper,  saying, 
This  cup  is  the  new  testament  in  My  blood, 
which  is  shed  for  you." 

Wherever  in  this  world,  in  foreign  lands  or 
at  home,  a  little  company  of  Christian  people 
sit  down  at  the  holy  communion,  which  is  one 
of  the  great  sacraments  of  the  church,  they 
are  eating  and  drinking  in  remembrance  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

"This  do,"  He  said,  "till  time  shall  end 
In  memory  of  your  dying  Friend." 

"  Many  centuries  have  fled 
Since  our  Saviour  broke  the  bread. 
And  His  sacred  feast  ordained 
Ever  by  His  Church  retained, 
Those  His  body  vcho  discern 
Thus  shall  meet  till  His  return." 

Even  little  children  who  love  Jesus  have  a 
place  at  His  table,  and  none  should  be  shut 
out  from  it  who  sincerely  repent  of  sin,  and 
honestly  intend  to  follow  Jesus  in  the  world. 

There  was  one  at  the  last  supper  who  betrayed 
his  Lord.  Another,  who  loved  Him,  was  to 
grieve  the  Master  by  a  base  and  cowardly 
denial  of  Him.     One  would  not  have  expected 


The  Last  Supper  211 

this  from  Peter,  the  bold  and  impulsive  and 
ardent  man,  but  Peter  was  over-confident  in 
himself,  and  not  sufficiently  confident  in 
Christ.  "Though  I  should  die  with  Thee," 
boastfully  and  sincerely  exclaimed  Peter,  "  I 
will  not  deny  Thee.  Though  all  should  deny 
Thee,  yet  will  not  I." 

Alas !  the  Master  knew  Peter  better  than 
Peter  knew  his  own  heart. 

"I  will  lay  down  my  life  for  Thy  sake," 
said  Peter. 

"  "Wilt  thou  lay  down  thy  life  for  My 
sake  ?  "  Jesus  surveyed  him  with  a  deep  com- 
passion. "  Yerily,  verily,  I  say  unto  thee,  the 
cock  shall  not  crow,  till  thou  hast  denied  Me 
thrice." 

The  most  loving  words  our  Master  ever 
spoke,  were  spoken  in  this  hour. 

"Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled:  ye  be- 
lieve in  God,  believe  also  in  Me.  In  My 
Father's  house  are  many  mansions  :  if  it  were 
not  so,  I  would  have  told  you.  I  go  to  pre- 
pare a  place  for  you. 

"  And  if  I  go  and  prepare  a  place  for  you,  I 
will  come  again,  and  receive  you  unto  Myself, 
that  where  I  am,  there  ye  may  be  also.  And 
whither  I  go  ye  know,  and  the  way  ye  know. 

"  Thomas  saith  unto  Him,  Lord,  we  know  not 
whither  Thou  goest ;  and  how  can  we  know 
the  way  ? 


2 1 2  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  I  am  the  way,  the 
truth,  and  the  life ;  no  man  cometh  unto  the 
Father  but  by  Me.  If  ye  had  known  Me,  ye 
should  have  known  My  Father  also :  and  from 
henceforth  ye  know  Him,  and  have  seen  Him. 

"  Philip  saith  unto  Him,  Lord,  show  us  the 
Father,  and  it  sufficeth  us. 

"  Jesus  saith  unto  him.  Have  I  been  so  long 
time  with  you,  and  yet  thou  hast  not  known 
Me,  Philip  ?  he  that  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen 
the  Father ;  and  how  sayest  thou  then,  Shew 
us  the  Father  ? 

"  Believest  thou  not  that  I  am  in  the 
Father,  and  the  Father  in  Me  ?  the  words  that 
I  speak  unto  you  I  speak  not  of  Myself :  but 
the  Father  that  dwelleth  in  Me,  He  doeth  the 
works. 

"  Believe  Me  that  I  am  in  the  Father,  and 
the  Father  in  Me :  or  else  believe  Me  for  the 
very  works'  sake. 

"  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you,  He  that  be- 
lieveth  on  Me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall  he  do 
also ;  and  greater  works  than  these  shall  he 
do ;  because  I  go  unto  My  Father. 

"  And  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  in  My  name, 
that  will  I  do,  that  the  Father  may  be  glori- 
fied in  the  Son. 

"  If  ye  shall  ask  anything  in  My  name,  I 
will  do  it." 

A  little  later,  still  talking  to  the  listeners 


The  Last  Supper  213 

with  divinest  gentleness,  and  trying  to  prepare 
them  for  the  ordeal  that  was  to  try  their 
faith,  Jesus  said,  "  I  am  indeed  going  away 
but  the  Comforter  will  come  when  I  am  gone." 

"  Peace  I  leave  with  you.  My  peace  I  give 
unto  you ;  not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I  unto 
you.  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled,  neither 
let  it  be  afraid." 

In  the  moonlight  rising  over  the  hills,  they 
then  went  forth,  and  Jesus  led  them  towards 
the  slopes  of  Olivet.  As  they  walked.  He  saw 
the  vines  bending  under  their  weight  of  purple 
grapes,  and  He  told  them  to  look  at  the  vines. 

"  I  am  the  true  vine,  and  My  Father  is  the 
husbandman,"  He  said  teaching  them  to  the 
very  end  in  familiar  parables. 

"  Every  branch  in  Me  that  beareth  not  fruit 
He  taketh  away  :  and  every  branch  that  bear- 
eth fruit.  He  purgeth  it,  that  it  may  bring 
forth  more  fruit. 

"Now  ye  are  clean  through  the  word  which 
I  have  spoken  unto  you. 

"  Abide  in  Me,  and  I  in  you.  As  the  branch 
cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself,  except  it  abide  in 
the  vine ;  no  more  can  ye,  except  ye  abide  in 
Me. 

"  I  am  the  vine,  ye  are  the  branches :  He 
that  abideth  in  Me,  and  I  in  him,  the  same 
bringeth  forth  much  fruit ;  for  without  Me  ye 
can  do  nothing. 


214  1'hat  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  If  a  man  abide  not  in  Me,  he  is  cast  forth 
as  a  branch,  and  is  withered  :  the  men  gather 
them,  and  cast  them  into  the  fire,  and  they  are 
burned. 

"  If  ye  abide  in  Me,  and  My  words  abide  in 
you,  ye  shall  ask  what  ye  will,  and  it  shall  be 
done  unto  you. 

"  Herein  is  My  Father  glorified,  that  ye  bear 
much  fruit :  so  shall  ye  be  My  disciples. 

"  As  the  Father  hath  loved  Me,  so  have  I 
loved  you :  continue  ye  in  My  love. 

"If  ye  keep  My  commandments,  ye  shall 
abide  in  My  love:  even  as  I  have  kept  My 
Father's  commandments,  and  abide  in  His 
love. 

"  These  things  have  I  spoken  unto  you,  that 
My  joy  might  remain  in  you,  and  that  your 
joy  might  be  full. 

"This  is  My  commandment.  That  ye  love 
one  another,  as  I  have  loved  you.  Greater 
love  hath  no  man  than  this,  that  a  man  lay 
down  his  life  for  his  friends.  Ye  are  My 
friends,  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you. 

"  Henceforth  I  call  you  not  servants  :  for  the 
servant  knoweth  not  what  his  lord  doeth  :  but 
I  have  called  you  friends,  for  all  things  that  I 
have  heard  of  My  Father  I  have  made  known 
unto  you. 

"  Ye  have  not  chosen  Me,  but  I  have  chosen 
you,  and  ordained  you,  that  ye  should  go  and 


The  Last  Supper  215 

bring  forth  fruit,  and  that  your  fruit  should 
remain :  that  whatsoever  ye  shall  ask  of  the 
Father  in  My  name,  He  may  give  it  you. 

"  These  things  I  command  you,  that  ye  love 
one  another." 

One's  heart  beats  fast  and  one's  eyes  grow 
dim  with  tears,  when  one  reads  these  sentences 
spoken  to  the  poor,  frightened,  wonder-stricken 
disciples,  on  the  edge  of  a  great  calamity,  by 
Him  who  was  to  endure  the  supreme  grief  and 
pain,  but  whose  only  thought  was  to  prepare 
and  strengthen  those  He  was  leaving.  He 
told  them  that  in  the  world  they  would  meet 
hatred  and  persecution  and  trouble,  but  they 
need  not  be  afraid. 

"  Be  of  good  cheer,"  He  said,  "  I  have  over- 
come the  world." 

Then  Jesus  made  a  prayer  to  His  Father  in 
Heaven,  a  prayer  that  none  could  have  made, 
except  the  Man  Christ  Jesus,  who  was  also  the 
Son  of  God. 

When  the  prayer  was  ended,  Jesus  led  them 
over  the  brook  Cedron  to  a  place  where  there 
was  a  garden. 


XXVII 

GETHSEMANE 

The  garden  beyond  the  brook  was  a  favour- 
ite resort,  to  which  Jesus  had  before  this  hour 
gone  when  He  wished  to  be  alone. 

All  His  disciples  knew  the  spot.  Judas 
knew  it  too,  and  knew  by  some  intuition  that 
here  he  would  be  likely  to  find  Him. 

Jesus  left  the  larger  part  of  the  disciples 
near  the  garden's  entrance,  but  went  into  its 
deeper  shades  with  the  three  who  had  been 
with  Him  when  He  raised  the  little  maiden 
from  the  dead,  when  He  stood  on  Hermon's 
top  and  was  transfigured,  and  who  had  often 
been  His  companions  on  long  nights,  when  the 
fishers'  boats  spread  their  sails  and  floated  over 
the  sea  of  Galilee. 

He  asked  them  to  watch  while  He  withdrew 
a  little  space,  about  a  stone's  cast,  and  knelt  in 
prayer. 

Here,  in  the  garden,  in  His  final  struggle 
against  the  devil  whom  Jesus  had  routed  in 
the  wilderness  when  His  ministry  began,  in 
His  final  wrestle  against  the  powers  of  wick- 
edness, Jesus  tasted  the  full  bitterness  of  the 
cup  He  was  to  drink  to  the  dregs. 
216 


JESUS  IN  THE  GARDEN  OF  GETHSEMANE 


Gethsemane  217 

His  soul  was  exceeding  sorrowful  unto 
death.  He  had  said  to  His  three  friends,  "  Sit 
here,  while  I  go  yonder  to  pray." 

Wearied  with  the  long  day,  they  fell  asleep. 

No  man  witnessed  the  agony  in  Gethsemane. 
But  an  angel  came  flying  from  heaven  to 
strengthen  the  Lord  in  that  mortal  anguish 
when  the  drops  of  sweat  that  oozed  from  His 
brow  were  great  drops  of  blood  falling  to  the 
ground. 

"Father,  if  it  be  Thy  will,"  He  pleaded, 
"  let  this  cup  pass  from  Me.  Nevertheless  not 
My  will,  but  Thine  be  done." 

Since  that  scene  in  the  garden,  the  word  we 
use  when  we  think  of  any  one  in  mortal  pain 
is  Gethsemane.  When  any  one  reaches  a 
crisis  that  human  language  cannot  paint,  the 
word  Gethsemane  is  a  picture  that  shows  it  in 
its  lurid  colours,  so  that  all  understand. 

"  Could  ye  not  watch  with  Me  one  hour," 
said  the  Lord  to  the  disciples.  Tender  re- 
proach was  in  the  question,  and  they  were 
broken-hearted  that  they  had  slept. 

"Never  mind,"  He  said.  "The  spirit  in- 
deed is  willing  but  the  flesh  is  weak.  Yet 
watch  and  pray,  lest  ye  enter  into  tempta- 
tion." 

I  said  that  Judas  knew  the  garden  under  the 
olives  as  well  as  the  other  disciples  did.  As 
Jesus  was  leaving  the  place,  there  was  sud- 


2i8  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

denlj  a  great  uproar.  The  moon  had  set. 
The  midnight  darkness  was  gathering  thickly. 

The  crowd  of  ruffianly  men  from  the  chief 
priests,  led  by  Judas  had  with  them  lanterns 
and  torches  and  weapons.  The}''  rushed  for- 
ward in  boisterous  haste  as  if  to  apprehend  a 
rioter,  or  an  outlaw. 

"Jesus  therefore,  knowing  all  things  that 
should  come  upon  Him,  went  forth,  and  said 
unto  them,  Whom  seek  ye  ? 

"  They  answered  Him,  Jesus  of  IS^azareth. 
Jesus  saith  unto  them,  I  am  He.  And  Judas 
also,  which  betrayed  Him,  stood  with  them. 

"  And  as  soon  as  He  had  said  unto  them,  I  am 
He,  they  went  backward,  and  fell  to  the  ground. 

"  Then  asked  He  them  again,  Whom  seek 
ye  ?    And  they  said,  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

"  Jesus  answered,  I  have  told  you  that  I  am 
He :  if  therefore  ye  seek  Me,  let  these  go  their 
way.  That  the  saying  might  be  fulfilled 
which  He  spake.  Of  them  which  Thou  gavest 
Me,  I  have  lost  none. 

"  Then  Simon  Peter  having  a  sword  drew  it, 
and  smote  the  high  priest's  servant,  and  cut  off 
his  right  ear.    The  servant's  name  was  Malchus. 

"Then  Jesus  said  unto  Peter,  Put  up  thy 
sword  into  the  sheath ;  the  cup  which  My 
Father  hath  given  Me,  shall  I  not  drink  it  ? 

"  Then  the  band  and  the  captain  and  the 
officers  of  the  Jews  took  Jesus,  and  bound 


Gethsemane  219 

Him,  and  led  Him  away  to  Annas  first ;  for 
He  was  the  father-in-law  to  Caiaphas  which 
was  the  high  priest  that  same  year.  Now 
Caiaphas  was  he,  which  gave  counsel  to  the 
Jews,  that  it  was  expedient  that  one  man 
should  die  for  the  people." 

This  is  the  description  of  John.  Matthew 
tells  us  that  Judas  approaching  Jesus,  cried, 
"  Hail,  Master,"  and  kissed  Him,  thus  putting 
with  his  deceitful  lips,  the  crowning  touch 
upon  his  infamy.  Matthew  tells  us  that  Jesus 
said,  answering  the  traitor's  kiss,  "  Friend, 
wherefore  art  thou  come  ?  "  And  when  Peter 
struck  the  servant  of  the  high  priest  with  his 
sword,  Jesus  rebuked  his  zeal,  saying,  "  Put 
up  thy  sword.  Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot 
now  pray  to  My  Father,  and  He  shall  pres- 
ently send  Me  more  than  twelve  legions  of 
angels  ?  " 

Invisible  hosts  of  angels,  powerless  to  help 
because  they  had  not  been  commanded,  must 
have  witnessed  this  singular  scene,  the  angry 
band  of  temple  attendants,  the  slinking  Judas, 
the  dismayed  disciples,  and  in  the  midst,  the 
figure  of  Him,  who  for  three  and  thirty  years 
had  made  Judea  a  holy  land,  and  for  three 
years  had  gone  about  doing  good. 

"  I  was  daily  with  you  in  the  temple,"  He 
said,  "  and  you  laid  no  hands  on  Me.  But  this 
is  your  hour,  and  the  power  of  darkness." 


XXYIII 

IN  THE   HOUSE   OF  THE  HIGH  PRIEST 

The  hottest  flame  of  hatred  in  human  ex- 
perience is  lighted  by  religious  bigotry.  As 
we  read  history  we  find  in  every  age  the  most 
terrible  crimes,  and  the  most  malignant  pas- 
sions excited  and  raging,  where  men  make  a 
pretense  of  doing  wrong  because  they  think  it 
right.  But  the  high  priest  of  the  Hebrews  in 
the  day  of  the  Lord's  betrayal  had  not  this 
excuse.  He  knew  and  the  men  around  Him 
knew  that  they  were  pursuing  an  innocent 
victim,  with  a  causeless  malice  that  would  not 
be  satisfied  until  the  victim  was  slain. 

In  the  chill  hour  between  midnight  and 
dawn,  Jesus,  unresisting,  was  dragged  into  the 
house  of  the  high  priest.  The  crowd  which 
had  seized  Him  was  violent  and  bloodthirsty, 
and  it  terrorized  the  disciples.  We  blush 
when  we  read  that  they  all  forsook  Him  and 
fled.  Maybe  we  would  have  done  the  same. 
But  they  did  not  quite  all  forsake  Him,  John, 
the  beloved  disciple,  was  acquainted  with  the 
high  priest,  and  he  went  in  with  his  Master, 
and  stood  as  near  Him  as  he  could  in  the  great 
hall  where  His  first  trial  was  to  begin.     And 


In  the  House  of  the  High  Priest    221 

John  went  to  the  door,  and  knowing  the  serv- 
ant who  acted  as  porter,  persuaded  him  to  let 
Peter  in  also.  If  John  and  Peter  for  a  single 
instant  joined  the  rout  of  the  fleeing  disciples, 
they  overcame  their  panic  and  soon  hurried 
back. 

At  one  end  of  the  hall,  seated  in  a  great 
chair,  you  may  observe  the  high  priest  in  his 
robes  of  office,  an  obsequious  retinue  surround- 
ing him.  In  front  of  him  stands  the  Nazarene 
clad  in  the  blue  homespun  garments  of  a  Gali- 
lean peasant.  Only  angry  and  contemptuous 
faces  are  around  Him  now,  except  that  a  little 
way  off  watching  with  eager  love,  stands  John, 
silent,  grave,  and  fearless.  Love  had  made  him 
a  hero  in  that  hour. 

Around  the  fire  at  the  other  end  of  the  hall 
is  a  motley  group.  Kuffians  who  had  dragged 
Jesus  from  the  garden  through  the  deserted 
streets,  rub  their  hands  with  complacency. 
Servants  of  the  high  priest  are  there,  and 
there  too  are  clusters  of  haughty  Pharisees 
and  smooth-tongued  scribes  and  priests  and 
Levites  are  there  too.  Jesus  is  not  unlike  the 
man  who,  going  down  from  Jerusalem  to 
Jericho,  fell  among  thieves,  and  being  left 
wounded  and  beaten,  lay  on  the  ground  as  if 
dead.  Priest  and  Levite  passed  that  man  by, 
indifferent.  Jesus  is  not  yet  wounded  and 
beaten.     He  stands,  a  dignified  and  impres- 


222  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

sive  Man,  superb  in  courage,  of  magnificent 
strength,  a  lion  attacked  by  curs.  Priest  and 
Levite  stare  at  Him  with  hostility.  There  is 
no  Good  Samaritan  to  come  to  the  rescue. 
Not  till  the  storm  spends  itself,  and  Jesus  is 
slain,  will  the  priests  and  the  Pharisees  breathe 
freely. 

John  sees  it  all. 

Peter  from  the  corner  where  he  warms  him- 
self at  the  fire,  sees  it  too.  A  wild  clamour  is 
raging  around  the  Master. 

There  is  a  seething  undercurrent  of  bitter 
and  menacing  talk  by  the  fire,  where  the 
menials  congregate.  Words,  hard  as  hail- 
stones are  hurled  at  Jesus  by  these  low  people. 
Peter  hears  them,  and  shrinks.  He  hopes  that 
nobody  will  notice  him.  And  he  hears  as  in 
a  dreadful  dream,  the  tumult  at  the  opposite 
end  of  the  room. 

A  maid  servant,  suddenly  turning,  takes 
note  of  the  cringing  Galilean,  and  the  self- 
consciousness  of  his  attitude  seizes  her  atten- 
tion. 

"  "Why,  why,"  she  exclaims,  "  what  are  you 
doing  here  ?  You  were  with  Jesus.  You  are 
one  of  His  followers." 

"No,"  said  Peter,  "you  are  mistaken.  I 
never  knew  Him." 

But  he  loitered  away  from  the  fire,  and  into 
the  porch.     He  did  not  dare  to  stay  in  that 


In  the  House  of  the  High  Priest    223 

neighbourhood.  Somebody  else  might  accuse 
him.  Fear  had  conquered  Peter,  fear,  abject, 
unreasoning,  and  despotic.  It  is  dreadful  to 
be  frightened  through  and  through. 

Another  maid  in  the  porch,  said  as  the  first 
had  done,  "  Here  is  a  man  who  belongs  to  the 
prisoner.  This  fellow  was  with  Jesus  of  Gali- 
lee.    I  have  seen  him." 

Peter  denied  with  an  oath  that  he  had  ever 
known  Jesus,  "  I  do  not  know  the  Man,"  he 
said. 

Poor,  craven  coward!  To  fail  so  ignobly 
when  he  might  have  endured  so  manfully  1 

He  edged  his  way  a  little  farther  from 
Jesus,  a  little  farther  from  those  pitiless  ac- 
cusing maids. 

Another  voice  cried  with  a  taunting  laugh, 
"  Surely  thou  also  art  one  of  them.  It  is  useless 
to  deny  it.     Thy  speech  betrays  thee." 

In  the  rough  Northern  burr  of  the  Galilean 
fisherman,  Peter  as  perhaps  he  had  often  done 
before  Jesus  called  him,  began  to  curse  and 
swear,  vehemently  denying  Christ. 

Then,  clear  as  a  clarion,  the  dawn  reddening 
in  the  East,  the  cock  crew.  A  new  day  had 
begun. 

Peter  had  denied  his  Lord  three  times. 

From  the  crowd  before  the  high  priest,  the 
Lord  turned  and  looked  on  Peter.  That  look, 
so  pit3'ing,   so  reproachful,  went  to  Peter's 


224         1^^^  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

heart.  He  tore  himself  away,  rushed  to  some 
lonesome  corner  and  wept  bitterly. 

Meanwhile,  false  witnesses,  of  whom  there 
were  plenty  in  the  pay  of  the  priests,  fairly 
tumbled  over  each  other,  in  their  desire  to  in- 
criminate Jesus.  But  their  evidence  was  so 
contradictory  and  flimsy  that  the  high  priest, 
mindful  of  the  people  who,  gone  mad  for  the 
moment,  yet  loved  Jesus,  and  mindful  of  the 
Romans  who  governed  the  country,  did  not 
dare  to  accept  such  testimony.  They  wanted 
witnesses  to  say  of  Jesus  things  on  which  He 
might  be  condemned  to  death. 

Finally,  one  arose  and  said,  "This  fellow 
said,  I  am  able  to  destroy  the  temple  of  God, 
and  to  build  it  in  three  days. 

"  And  the  high  priest  arose,  and  said  unto 
Him,  I  adjure  Thee  by  the  living  God,  that 
Thou  tell  us  whether  Thou  be  the  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God. 

"  And  Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thou  hast  said : 
nevertheless  I  say  unto  you.  Hereafter  ye 
shall  see  the  Son  of  Man  sitting  on  the  right 
hand  of  power,  and  coming  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven. 

"  Then  the  high  priest  rent  his  clothes,  say- 
ing, He  hath  spoken  blasphemy.  What  think 
ye  ?  They  answered  and  said,  He  is  guilty  of 
death." 

From  this  moment  the  fury  of  demons  pos- 


In  the  House  of  the  High  Priest    225 

sessed  the  minions  of  the  high  priest.  The  high 
priest  in  horror  rent  his  clothes,  calling  it  blas- 
phemy that  the  prisoner  before  him,  should 
tell  him  that  He  would  yet  sit  on  the  right 
hand  of  God.  In  real  or  feigned  horror,  the 
high  priest  asked  what  fate  Jesus  deserved 
and  received  the  answer  he  wanted. 

"He  deserves  to  die.  He  is  guilty.  Put 
Him  to  death." 

They  clamoured  and  shrieked  and  surged  in 
their  passion  close  to  Jesus.  They  left  no 
insult  out  of  their  treatment.  Jesus  stood 
there,  a  rock  in  the  midst  of  the  storm,  while 
these  wicked  men  spat  in  His  face,  struck  Him, 
buffeted  Him,  were  ready  to  pull  Him  limb 
from  limb.  It  was  as  if  all  the  devils  Jesus 
had  ever  cast  out  of  suffering  men,  had  entered 
into  this  crew  of  cowards,  and  were  wreaking 
their  spite  on  Jesus.  All  this  indeed  had  been 
going  on,  while  Peter,  terrified,  had  denied  his 
Lord,  and  it  was  at  its  height,  when  the  Lord 
turned,  and  looked  at  Peter. 

You  cannot  help  feeling  how  splendid  and 
royal  is  the  bearing  of  Jesus,  how  manly  and 
brave,  how  valiant  He  is,  while  the  crowd  of 
ingrates  vent  their  futile  hatred  on  Him. 
Among  them  must  have  been  some  whom  in 
other  days,  He  had  helped,  perhaps  cured  of 
disease.  But  they  forgot  this  in  the  insane 
desire  to  kill  the  Prince  of  Life. 


XXIX 

BEFORE  PILATE'S  JUDGMENT  SEAT 

The  very  worst  person  in  the  world  has, 
somewhere  in  his  nature,  a  side  that  can  be 
touched  by  goodness,  and  so  it  is  not  surprising 
that  Judas,  seeing  that  the  Master  did  not  save 
Himself  from  His  enemies,  repented  of  his 
share  in  the  transaction.  Judas  had  yielded 
to  his  besetting  sin,  a  desire  for  money,  but 
with  the  blood-stained  money  in  his  hand, 
there  came  to  him  a  realization  of  the  black- 
ness of  his  deed.  He  went  to  the  chief  priests, 
threw  down  the  money,  and  said,  "I  have 
sinned.  I  have  betrayed  the  innocent.  Take 
back  the  price  of  my  shame." 

Hard  and  jeering  faces  confronted  him. 
The  miserable  man  found  no  pity  in  them. 
"What  is  that  to  us?"  They  turned  from 
him  in  scorn,  and  Judas  went  away  and  hanged 
himself.  Jesus  had  truly  said  of  the  man  who 
should  betray  Him,  "  It  had  been  well  for  that 
man  had  he  never  been  born."  Yet,  I  believe  if 
in  that  hour,  Judas  had  gone  to  Jesus  and  con- 
fessed his  sin  to  Him,  the  Master  would  have 
received  and  forgiven  him  in  heavenly  love. 

Jew  and  Gentile  were  to  unite  in  sacrificing 
226 


Before  Pilate's  Judgment  Seat     227 

the  Lamb  of  God.  The  Jew  looked  down 
upon  all  beyond  the  pale  of  Abraham's  line, 
and  regarded  the  Romans  and  the  Greeks  and 
the  rest  of  the  world-peoples  as  outside  bar- 
barians. Yet  the  Roman  eagles  flew  over 
Palestine,  and  a  Roman  governor  ruled  the 
land.  The  Jewish  priesthood  had  great  power, 
but  when  it  was  a  question  of  condemning  a 
man  to  death,  they  had  to  stand  aside.  Only 
Rome  could  do  this. 

From  the  hall  of  the  high  priest  Jesus  was 
led,  a  captive  strongly  bound  and  guarded  by 
an  armed  posse,  that  He  might  be  delivered 
into  the  hands  of  Pontius  Pilate,  the  Roman 
ruler.  By  this  time,  although  it  was  early, 
the  whole  city  was  moved,  and  everywhere 
one  theme  was  the  topic  of  conversation. 
The  wife  of  Pilate  heard  what  was  going  on 
and  she  sent  her  husband  a  message,  urging 
him  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  murder  of 
this  just  person.  No  woman,  Jew  or  Gentile, 
ever  raised  a  hand  or  spoke  a  word  against 
Jesus  of  Nazareth.  "Women  did  not  cry  "  Cru- 
cify Him,"  though  they  did  cry  "  Hosanna  in 
the  Highest ! " 

Pilate  surveyed  the  prisoner  brought  before 
his  judgment  seat,  with  frank  curiosity.  He 
had  the  vaguest  notion  why  the  Jews  hated 
this  Man,  and  his  first  inquiry  showed  him 
wide  of  the  mark. 


228  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  Art  Thou  the  King  of  the  Jews  ?  " 

Jesus  answered,  "  Thou  sayest." 

Son  of  David  and  Son  of  God,  Jesus  was  in- 
deed King  of  the  Jews.  The  fact  was  the 
occasion  of  their  fiercest  rage  for  they  did 
not  want  such  a  King  as  He  to  reign  over 
them. 

The  chief  priests  poured  out  their  accusa- 
tions before  Pilate.  Jesus  made  no  reply, 
though  Pilate  gave  Him  the  opportunity  to  de- 
fend Himself.  But  as  a  sheep  before  her 
shearers  is  dumb.  He  opened  not  His  mouth. 
Thus  was  another  prophecy  fulfilled. 

It  was  customary  at  this  Passover  season  to 
release  some  noted  prisoner,  and  grant  him  a 
pardon.  Judge  of  the  hatred  of  the  Jews 
■when  Pilate  having  given  them  their  choice, 
they  clamoured  for  the  release  of  a  notorious 
criminal  named  Barabbas,  and  declared  that 
they  wished  the  condemnation  of  Jesus. 

"  What  shall  I  do  with  Jesus  which  is  called 
Christ  ?  "  asked  the  Eoman.  A  mighty  shout 
went  up,  "  Let  Him  be  crucified  !  " 

"  "Why,"  said  the  governor,  "  what  evil  hath 
He  done  ?  " 

Their  vehemence  drowned  his  protest.  "  Let 
Him  be  crucified  !  " 

Certain  men  in  history  are  forever  to  be 
pitied  because  they  threw  away  a  chance  to 
achieve  an  honoured  place  in  the  world's  roll 


Before  Pilate's  Judgment  Seat     229 

of  heroes.  Pilate  is  one  of  these.  He  was 
afraid  of  this  mob  of  Jews,  afraid  to  peril  his 
popularity,  afraid  to  resist  this  outbreak, 
though  he  had  an  army  at  his  back.  He  had 
no  heart  in  the  killing  of  Jesus.  To  the  end 
of  time,  Pilate's  name  will  be  infamous  be- 
cause Pilate  was  weak  when  he  should  have 
been  strong. 

"  They  gave  Him  vinegar  to  drink,  mingled 
with  gall :  and  when  He  had  tasted  thereof, 
He  would  not  drink. 

"  And  they  crucified  Him,  and  parted  His 
garments,  casting  lots :  that  it  might  be  ful- 
filled which  was  spoken  by  the  prophet ;  They 
parted  My  garments  among  them,  and  upon 
My  vesture  did  they  cast  lots." 

Little  did  the  Jews  comprehend  the  curse 
they  invoked  in  that  hour.  From  the  days 
when  Titus  levelled  the  walls  of  Jerusalem 
until  our  own  day,  the  Hebrew  has  been  a 
target  for  persecution,  exiled,  separated,  driven 
out  from  one  land,  dispersed  in  another,  tor- 
mented and  oppressed.  Never  yet  has  the 
curse  been  removed.  Christendom  has  not 
been  Christlike  in  its  treatment  of  the  Jew. 
May  a  day  dawn  soon  when  the  great  love  of 
Jesus  shall  gather  in  these  people  of  whose 
race  He  was  born,  and  when  their  eyes  may 
be  opened  that  they  may  know  Him  as  their 
Messiah. 


230  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

Pilate  sent  messengers  to  the  prison  of  Barab- 
has,  and  set  him  free. 

Before  the  last  act  in  this  drama,  that  noth- 
ing might  be  omitted,  which  should  drop  an 
added  bitter  in  the  Master's  cup,  Pilate  sent 
Jesus  to  Herod.  This  wicked  prince  was  glad 
when  he  saw  Him,  for  he  secretly  hoped  that 
Jesus  would  work  a  miracle  in  his  presence. 
He  questioned  Him  in  the  hearing  of  his  court, 
but  Jesus  did  not  answer.  So  Herod  and  his 
men  at  arms  made  sport  of  Jesus,  put  on  Him 
in  mockery  a  scarlet  robe,  and  sent  Him  back 
to  Pilate. 

Barabbas  was  released.  Jesus  was  cruelly 
scourged,  by  order  of  the  governor,  and  was 
then  given  over  to  the  soldiers  to  be  crucified. 

Bound  and  bleeding,  a  faded  scarlet  robe 
thrown  over  His  shoulders,  the  Eoman  soldiery 
mocked  Jesus  still  further.  On  His  head  they 
put  a  crown  of  sharp  thorns.  Smiting  Him 
on  the  head  with  a  reed,  they  cried  in  derision, 

"  Hail  King  of  the  Jews  !  " 

Tired  at  last  of  this  hideous  mockery,  they 
took  off  the  robe  of  royal  scarlet  and  put  on 
the  Sufferer,  His  peasant  raiment.  Then  they 
led  Him  to  the  place  where  malefactors  of  the 
lowest  class  were  executed,  led  Him  away  to 
be  crucified. 

"  Let  Him  be  crucified  !  "  said  Pilate.  Long 
after,  John  in  Patmos  saw  in  vision  the  Lion 


Before  Pilate's  Judgment  Seat     231 

of  the  Tribe  of  Judah,  and  lo  !  He  was  a  Lamb 
that  had  been  slain.  And  ten  thousand  times 
ten  thousand  sang,  "  Worthy  the  Lamb  to  re- 
ceive power  and  wisdom  and  riches  and 
strength  and  honour  and  glory  and  blessing." 
Jesus  was  condemned  to  die  on  the  cross. 
The  death  was  shameful  exceedingly.  The 
gallows  in  our  day  is  not  more  dreaded  for 
its  stigma  than  was  the  cross.  No  death  was 
so  prolonged  in  its  anguish,  so  intense  in  its 
torture.  But  Jesus  went  willingly  to  the  cross 
that  He  might  atone  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 
world.  It  was  sin  that  deserved  to  be  cruci- 
fied, and  the  Sinless  therefore  went  to  the 
cross.     And  because  of  this  sacrifice, 

"  Jesus  shall  reign  where'er  the  sun 
Doth  his  successive  journeys  run, 
His  kingdom  stretch  from  shore  to  shore 
Till  moons  shall  waz  and  wane  no  more." 


XXX 

JESUS  ON  THE   CROSS 

On  Mount  Calvary  there  were  three  crosses 
on  that  day  when  our  Lord  was  crucified. 
That  no  ignominy  might  be  left  out,  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  was  put  to  death  between  two 
thieves. 

The  way  to  Calvary  was  steep,  and  Jesus 
trod  it  bearing  His  cross.  But  soon  His  escort, 
unwilling  to  go  so  slowly  as  they  had  to,  with 
the  exhausted  and  stricken  Sufferer,  laid  the 
cross  on  a  man  named  Simon,  who  was  of 
Cyrene,  a  bystander  in  the  throng,  and  he 
carried  it  after  Jesus. 

The  women  who  beheld  this  pitiful  sight 
wept  and  wailed.  To  them,  Jesus  turned,  and 
said,  "Daughters  of  Jerusalem  weep  not  for 
Me,  but  weep  for  yourselves  and  your  children." 

Nailed  to  the  cruel  cross,  the  great  spikes 
rending  His  hands  and  His  feet,  our  Saviour 
hung  between  heaven  and  earth.  Down  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross  were  the  vengeful  chief 
priests,  and  a  rabble  of  Jews,  hostile  to  the 
last.  The  Roman  soldiers  were  in  another 
group  tossing  dice  that  they  might  divide 
among  them  the  clothing  of  the  victim.  Long 
232 


Jesus  on  the  Cross  233 

ago  it  had  been  foretold  that  they  should  do 
this.  "  They  parted  My  garments  among  them^ 
and  for  My  vesture  did  they  cast  lots." 

A  mournful  company,  composed  of  the  dis- 
ciples and  a  few  women  who  had  loved  Jesus, 
stood  and  watched  Him  die.  Among  the 
women  was  Mary  His  mother.  She  who  had 
borne  Him,  who  had  cradled  Him  in  her  arms, 
who  had  lulled  Him  on  her  breast,  stood 
broken-hearted  there.  From  the  cross,  He 
spoke  to  the  disciple  He  loved  best,  "  Son,  be- 
hold thy  mother,"  and  to  His  mother.  He  said, 
"  "Woman,  behold  thy  son."  So  from  that  hour 
John  cared  for  Mary  in  his  home,  and  was  to 
her  a  son  in  her  old  age. 

You  must  not  fancy  that  it  was  strange  for 
Jesus  to  address  His  mother,  as  "woman." 
This  was  the  ordinary  salutation  of  the  period 
and  conveyed  only  affection.  That  on  the 
cross  He  had  a  thought  for  her  showed  how 
dearly  He  loved  her  who  in  the  world  was 
nearest  Him. 

"  Father,  forgive  them :  for  they  know  not 
what  they  do,"  came  from  those  pale  lips  as 
Jesus  hung  upon  the  cross.  He  had  only 
pardon  for  His  enemies,  though  they  had  only 
hate  for  Him. 

Pilate  had  written  in  three  languages,  He- 
brew, Greek  and  Latin  this  legend,  and  had 
placed  it  above  the  cross. 


234         That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

"  This  is  Jesus  the  King  of  the  Jews." 

The  priests  did  not  like  to  have  this  inscrip- 
tion there,  but  Pilate  refused  to  alter  it. 
When  in  mockery  he  put  it  there,  he  was  irri- 
tated that  he  had,  as  he  knew  he  had,  con- 
demned an  innocent  man.  In  the  years  that 
followed  Pilate  may  have  been  haunted  by 
some  words  Jesus  had  said,  when  he  had  asked, 
"  Knowest  Thou  not  that  I  have  power  to  con- 
demn Thee  and  power  to  release  Thee  ?  "  and 
Jesus  had  answered,  "Thou  couldst  have  no 
power  against  Me  at  all  if  it  were  not  given 
thee  from  above." 

The  taunting  crowd  at  the  foot  of  the  cross 
exclaimed,  "  Let  Christ  the  King  of  Israel  now 
come  down  from  the  cross,  and  we  will  believe 
on  Him.  He  saved  others.  Himself  He  can- 
not save." 

Though  they  did  not  mean  it,  they  spoke  the 
truth.  If  the  world  were  to  be  saved,  Jesus 
could  not  save  Himself  in  that  hour.  To  the 
uttermost  the  price  of  redemption  had  to  be 
paid. 

They  brought  Him  a  sponge  filled  with  vine- 
gar to  moisten  His  lips  and  relieve  His  thirst, 
but  He  did  not  taste  it. 

Thick  darkness,  the  gloom  of  midnight  at 
noon,  settled  over  Calvary,  over  Jerusalem, 
over  Judea,  and  over  lands  far  off,  from  twelve 
o'clock  until  three.     Out  of  this  darkness  broke 


Jesus  on  the  Cross  235 

a  piercing  cry  from  the  cross,  "  My  God,  My 
God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken  Me  ?  " 

Just  once,  the  Son  in  that  terrible  hour  of 
conflict,  knew  what  it  means  for  a  soul  to  lose 
sight  of  the  Father's  face.     Just  once  ! 

One  of  the  malefactors  dying  on  a  cross  be- 
side Jesus,  joined  in  the  taunts  of  the  crowd. 
The  other  repenting  of  his  wickedness,  and  be- 
lieving said,  "  Lord,  remember  me  when  Thou 
comest  into  Thy  Kingdom." 

And  Jesus,  performing  His  final  work  of 
kindness  to  a  mortal  man,  while  here  He 
tarried  on  the  earth,  said  to  the  penitent 
thief, 

"  Yerily,  I  say  unto  thee,  To-day  thou  shalt 
be  with  Me  in  Paradise." 

Deeper  grew  the  darkness.  Men  could  not 
see  one  another  so  great  was  the  gloom. 

Suddenly  an  earthquake  shook  the  city. 
The  veil  of  the  Temple,  the  veil  that  divided 
the  Holy  of  Holies,  where  evermore  brooded 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  above  the  ark  of  the 
Covenant,  was  torn  from  top  to  bottom,  as  if 
by  invisible  hands.  The  veil  was  needed  no 
longer  for  Jesus  had  now  made  every  place  a 
Holy  of  Holies,  where  the  little  child  or  the 
penitent  sinner  should  kneel  to  Him. 

"Father,  into  Thy  hands  I  commit  My 
Spirit !  "  came  in  royal  tones  from  the  victim 
on  the   cross.     Then,   with   a  loud   resonant 


236         That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

voice,  He  called  "  It  is  finished  ! "  and  yielded 
up  His  soul. 

The  Koman  centurion  in  command  was 
moved  with  amazement.  He  glorified  God  we 
are  told.  In  silence  and  sorrow  the  crowds 
scattered  and  went  home.  But  the  Romans 
had  still  something  to  do.  They  pierced  the 
side  of  Jesus  with  a  spear. 

So  broken,  so  marred,  so  kingly  still,  the 
body  of  Jesus  was  taken  down  from  the  cross. 
Joseph  of  Arimathea,  an  honourable  counsel- 
lor went  boldly  to  Pilate  and  demanded  the 
body  of  Jesus,  which  he  wrapped  in  a  cloth  of 
fair  white  linen,  and  laid  away  in  his  new 
tomb,  a  sepulchre  in  a  garden.  They  rolled  a 
great  stone  to  the  door  of  the  tomb,  and  a 
guard  of  Roman  soldiers  was  appointed  to 
watch  before  it,  until  the  third  day.  For  He 
had  said,  that  on  the  third  day  He  would  rise 
again. 


"  There  is  a  green  hill  far  away, 
Without  a  city  wall, 
Where  the  dear  Lord  was  crucified, 
Who  died  to  save  us  all. 


'  We  may  not  know,  we  cannot  tell 

What  pains  He  had  to  bear  ; 
But  we  believe  it  was  for  us 
He  hung  and  suffered  there. 


Jesus  on  the  Cross  237 

*'  He  died  that  we  might  be  forgiven  ; 
He  died  to  make  us  good, 
That  we  might  go  at  last  to  heaven. 
Saved  by  His  precious  blood. 

"There  was  no  other  good  enough 
To  pay  the  price  of  sin  ; 
He  only  could  unlock  the  gate 
Of  heaven,  and  let  us  in. 

**  O  dearly,  dearly  has  He  loved, 
And  we  must  love  Him  too. 
And  trust  in  His  redeeming  blood, 
And  try  Hia  work  to  do." 


XXXI 

THE  LORD  IS  RISEN 

Two  great  festal  days  mark  the  Christian 
year,  Christmas  and  Easter.  The  first  is  in 
honour  of  our  Lord's  coming  into  the  world. 
"Wherever  there  is  a  home,  wherever  there  are 
children,  in  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  there  is 
joy  that  we  are  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Child 
who  came  to  Bethlehem.  The  little  Son  of 
Mary  wins  the  hardest  hearts.  Old  grudges 
disappear,  feuds  are  forgotten,  love  flows  from 
heart  to  heart  at  Christmas-tide. 

When  Christmas  comes 

In  field  and  street,  in  mart  and  farm 

The  world  takes  on  a  lovelier  charm. 

Sweet-scented  boughs  of  pine  and  fir, 

Are  brought  like  frankincense  and  myrrh, 

To  make  our  holy  places  meet 

For  hands  that  clasp  and  tones  that  greet, 

While  hearts,  more  worth  than  gold  or  gem 

Go  forth  to  find  their  Bethlehem 

When  Christmas  comes. 

Yet  Christmas  is  less  a  day  of  victory  than 
Easter,  for  the  sweet  story  that  begins  then,  is 
incomplete  until  it  is  crowned  by  the  announce- 
ment, "  The  Lord  is  risen."     If  Jesus  Christ, 
238 


The  Lord  is  Risen  239 

having  breathed  His  last  on  the  cross,  had 
never  come  back  to  the  world,  in  life,  as  He 
promised,  then  the  Star  of  Bethlehem  might  as 
well  have  never  flamed,  the  angels  as  well 
never  have  sung  "  Glorj'^  in  the  Highest "  in 
the  midnight  sky,  and  the  wise  men  from  the 
East,  need  not  have  taken  their  journey  to  find 
the  Babe  in  the  manger.  Easter  sounds  the 
grandest  strain  in  the  Hallelujah  Chorus  that 
angels  and  men  sing  together  over  the  world's 
redemption.  "We  might  have  wept  over  our 
Crucified  King,  if  He  had  never  risen  from 
the  dead,  but  we  sound  His  praises  now,  be- 
cause He  lives  and  reigns  forever  and  ever. 

Friends  in  the  bright  spring  morning,  when 
you  carry  your  lilies  to  church  that  they  may 
be  fragrant  emblems  of  the  resurrection, 

Sing  a  song  of  Easter, 

A  song  that  means  a  prayer 

Of  want  and  love  to  One  above 

Who  keeps  the  world  in  care. 

A  song  for  all  on  this  green  earth, 

For  loved  ones  passed  away, 

Sing  clear  and  strong  the  joyful  song, 

The  song  of  Easter  Day. 

Few  households  have  never  known  the  pang 
that  rends  the  heart  when  dear  ones  die.  If 
we  gave  up  our  loved  ones  with  the  feeling 
that  we  should  never  see  them  again,  our 
grief  could  not  pass  away.     We  would  have 


240  That  Sweet  Story  o{  Old 

no  comfort.  But  the  little  sister,  the  little 
brother,  the  parent,  the  friend  to  whom  you 
said  good-bye,  whom  you  saw  laid  in  the 
grave,  is  not  dead. 

The  dear  ones  who  leave  our  home  circle,  go 
home  to  be  with  Jesus,  and  are  more  alive 
there  with  Him,  than  they  were  when  here 
with  us. 

"  Ten  thonaand  times  ten  thousand, 
In  sparkling  raiment  white 
The  armies  of  the  ransomed  saints 
Throng  up  the  steeps  of  light. 
'Tis  finished,  all  is  finished, 
Their  fight  with  death  and  sin. 
Fling  open  wide  the  golden  gates 
And  let  the  victors  in." 

They  never  would  have  reached  Heaven 
victorious,  if  Jesus  had  not  first  trodden  the 
path  of  death,  and  conquered  death  with 
life. 

When  I  was  a  child,  I  first  knew  what 
death  meant,  when  a  little  brother  only  eight 
years  old,  fell  asleep  one  summer  day,  to 
awake  in  heaven.  Just  before  the  angel  who 
carries  little  children  home,  came  over  the 
threshold  and  bore  him  away,  one  who  was 
sitting  beside  the  dear  little  fellow,  saw  his 
lips  move  in  prayer.  She  stooped  closer,  and 
she  heard  him  say,  "  Dear  Jesus  go  with  me 
through     the    dark,    and    keep    Satan    from 


The  Lord  is  Risen  241 

troubling  me."  And  Jesus  heard  that  prayer. 
Our  living  Jesus  always  hears  our  prayers. 

We  left  our  dear  Lord  lying  at  rest  in  the 
new  tomb  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea.  Nico- 
demus,  who  long  before  had  sought  Jesus  in 
the  quiet  hush  of  night,  that  he  might  be 
taught  the  way  of  life,  brought  a  hundred 
pounds'  weight  of  spices  and  myrrh  to  embalm 
the  body  of  his  dear  Friend  and  Master.  The 
women  who  loved  Him  brought  their  sweet 
spices  too.  They  meant  to  embalm  the  pre- 
cious body,  so  that  decay  should  not  touch  it. 
This  would  be  the  very  last  thing  they  could 
do  to  show  their  love. 

But  they  had  to  wait  until  the  Jewish  Sab- 
bath was  past. 

Our  Sabbath,  as  you  know,  is  kept  on  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  in  memory  of  the  Lord's 
resurrection.  Every  Sabbath  is  a  sort  of 
Easter  Day,  when  we  remind  ourselves  that  He 
that  was  dead,  left  the  tomb,  and  ascended  up 
to  His  Father  in  heaven,  appearing  at  inter- 
vals to  many  disciples  for  a  period  of  forty 
days. 

The  disciples  who  came  to  the  sepulchre, 
very  early  in  the  morning  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  hurrying  thither  as  fast  as  they 
could,  and  wondering  who  would  roll  away 
the  stone  for  them,  found  it  rolled  away. 

An  angel  at  the  very  break  of  dawn  had 


242  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

come  straight  from  heaven  to  do  this,  and  to 
minister  to  the  Lord.  The  Boman  guard  had 
fallen  down  in  terror,  as  with  the  sound  of  an 
earthquake,  the  tomb  was  rent  apart.  The 
angel  of  the  Lord  not  only  rolled  away  the 
stone  but  sat  upon  it.  I  have  always  felt  glad 
that  the  women  who  loved  Jesus  were  the 
very  first  to  hear  the  angel  say,  "  Fear  not,  I 
know  that  ye  seek  Jesus  which  was  crucified. 
He  is  not  here.  He  is  risen  as  He  said. 
Come  see  the  place  where  the  Lord  lay." 

The  angels  appeared  in  a  different  manner 
to  the  different  ones  who  came  running  to  the 
tomb.  Peter  and  John  were  not  far  behind 
the  women  who  arrived  first,  and  at  the  amaz- 
ing news  that  the  Lord  was  not  there,  but  had 
risen,  John  ran  so  fast  that  he  reached  the 
tomb  before  Peter.  A  very  sweet  touch  of 
love  was  conveyed  in  the  angel's  earliest  words 
to  the  astonished  women,  "  Tell  His  disciples, 
and  Peter,  that  He  is  not  here,  that  He  goeth 
before  you  into  Galilee." 

As  though  the  Lord  would  assure  Peter  that 
He  had  forgiven  him  that  base  and  cowardly 
denial  of  Him  in  the  hall  of  the  high  priest  I 

Mary  Magdalene  had  the  most  beautiful  ex- 
perience of  all.  She  was  distressed,  heart- 
broken :  she  could  not  understand,  though  the 
linen  clothes  lay  there  folded  up  and  the  tomb 
was  vacant,  that  her  dear  Lord  was  indeed 


JESUS   SAITH  UNTO  HER,  MARY 


The  Lord  is  Risen  243 

alive  again.  Over  and  over  she  murmured  in 
her  despair, 

"  They  have  taken  away  my  Lord,  and  I 
know  not  where  they  have  laid  Him." 

"Mary!" 

A  voice  she  knew  called  her  by  name.  A 
man  whom  she  supposed  to  be  the  gardener 
stood  there,  under  the  olives,  in  the  morning 
sunlight. 

"Mary!" 

Oh,  the  tenderness  in  that  voice !  "  I  have 
called  thee  by  thy  name.  Thou  art  Mine," 
said  the  prophet  of  old.  Jesus  called  her  by 
her  name. 

"  Master  1 "  she  cried  in  a  transport  of  de- 
light, and  would  have  kissed  His  feet,  but  He 
restrained  her. 

"  Touch  Me  not,"  He  said,  "  I  am  not  yet 
ascended  to  My  Father  and  your  Father,  to 
My  God  and  your  God." 

He  would  not  allow  Mary  to  touch  Him,  in 
His  new  body  which  had  risen  from  the  dead, 
but  He  did  permit  Thomas  to  do  so  ;  Thomas 
was  the  disciple  who  led  the  way  when  Jesus 
took  His  last  journey  to  Jerusalem  saying, 
"  Let  us  also  go,  and  die  with  Him." 

"When  the  disciples  told  Thomas  that  Jesus 
had  risen  he  refused  to  believe  the  story.  It 
was  to  him  an  idle  tale, 

"  The  other  disciples  said  to  him,  "We  have 


244         That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

seen  the  Lord.  But  he  said  unto  them,  Except 
I  shall  see  in  His  hands  the  print  of  the  nails 
and  put  my  finger  into  the  print  of  the  nails, 
and  thrust  my  hand  into  His  side,  I  will  not 
believe." 

Eight  days  passed  away.  Eight  joyful  days 
to  the  disciples  who  knew  that  the  Master  had 
kept  His  word  and  risen.  Eight  triumphant 
days  to  those  who  recalled  how  He  had  said  of 
His  life,  "  No  man  taketh  it  from  Me.  I  have 
power  to  lay  it  down  and  I  have  power  to  take 
it  again."  Eight  days  of  mourning  and  sad- 
ness to  the  loving  Thomas,  who  did  not  believe 
what  Jesus  had  said.  Let  us  read  this  incident 
as  John  relates  it. 

"  And  after  eight  days  again  His  disciples 
were  within,  and  Thomas  with  them :  then 
came  Jesus,  the  doors  being  shut,  and  stood  in 
the  midst,  and  said,  Peace  be  unto  you. 

"  Then  said  He  to  Thomas,  Keach  hither  thy 
finger,  and  behold  My  hands,  and  reach  hither 
thy  hand,  and  thrust  it  into  My  side  :  and  be 
not  faithless,  but  believing. 

"And  Thomas  answered  and  said  unto 
Him,  My  Lord  and  my  God. 

"And  Jesus  saith  unto  Thomas,  because 
thou  hast  seen  Me,  thou  hast  believed :  blessed 
are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  be- 
lieved." 


XXXII 

A  WAYSIDE  WALK 

One  of  the  most  interesting  appearances  of 
our  Saviour  after  His  Kesurrection  is  that  of 
which  "we  are  told  by  Luke,  in  the  twenty- 
fourth  chapter  of  his  Gospel.  Jerusalem  had 
drawn  together  numbers  of  people  to  keep  the 
Passover.  Katurally  among  them  were  some 
faithful  disciples  of  Christ  whose  hearts  had 
been  almost  broken  as  they  stood  around  the 
cross.  Among  those  who  were  returning  very 
sorrowfully  to  their  own  homes,  were  two  who 
lived  in  a  place  called  Emmaus,  a  little  village 
between  seven  and  eight  miles  distant  from 
the  Capital.  One  of  these  men  was  named 
Cleopas,  and  the  other  is  not  named  in  the 
story.  They  walked  together,  talking  of  all 
the  things  which  had  lately  happened, 
their  hearts  so  heavy  that  their  voices  some- 
times shook  with  sobs.  While  they  were  thus 
communing  and  reasoning  together,  a  third 
person  drew  near  and  joined  himself  to  their 
company.  It  was  then  after  midday,  and  the 
heat  of  the  sun  was  somewhat  tempered,  but 
the  road  seems  to  have  been  lonely  and  there 
was  no  throng  upon  its  silent  stretches. 
245 


246  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

There  was  nothing  about  the  stranger  that 
drew  their  special  attention  when  first  He  ac- 
costed them.  Their  eyes  were  holden  that 
they  should  not  know  Him.  To  us  the  extra- 
ordinary thing  is  that  people  who  had  ever 
known  Jesus,  and  had  walked  and  talked  with 
Him  while  He  was  their  Friend  and  Guide, 
should  not  have  recognized  Him  the  instant 
He  drew  near.  Still  some  of  us  have  the  same 
experience  now.  We  are  so  preoccupied  with 
our  own  thoughts,  our  business,  and  the  many 
things  this  world  brings  to  bear  upon  us,  that 
we  let  our  best  Friend  pass  us  by  unrecog- 
nized. Do  not  let  us  blame  the  disciples  too 
much. 

Jesus  Himself  drew  near,  but  the  two  dis- 
ciples had  not  the  faintest  notion  that  it  was 
He,  even  when  He  said,  "  What  manner  of 
communications  are  these  that  ye  have  one  to 
another,  as  ye  walk,  and  are  sad  ?  " 

One  of  them,  the  one  called  Cleopas,  turned 
in  great  astonishment  and  said,  "Art  thou 
only  a  stranger  in  Jerusalem,  and  hast  not 
known  the  things  which  are  come  to  pass  there 
in  these  days?"  This  was  just  the  inquiry 
that  might  have  been  expected,  because  the 
whole  city  had  been  moved,  and  no  one  could 
have  been  in  Jerusalem  without  being  aware 
that  a  great  and  terrible  event  had  taken 
place. 


A  Wayside  Walk  247 

But  Jesus  answered,  "  What  things  ?  " 

"  And  they  said  unto  Him,  Concerning  Jesus 
of  Nazareth,  which  was  a  prophet  mighty  in 
deed  and  word  before  God  and  all  the  peo- 
ple. And  how  the  chief  priests  and  rulers  de- 
livered Him  to  be  condemned  to  death  and 
have  crucified  Him.  But  we  trusted  that  it 
had  been  He  which  would  have  redeemed 
Israel :  and  beside  all  this,  to-day  is  the  third 
day  since  those  things  were  done.  Yea,  and 
certain  women  also  of  our  company  made 
us  astonished,  which  were  early  at  the 
sepulchre:  And  when  they  found  not  the 
body,  they  came,  saying,  that  they  had  also 
seen  a  vision  of  angels,  which  said  that  He  was 
alive.  And  certain  of  them  which  were  with 
us  went  to  the  sepulchre,  and  found  it  even  so 
as  the  women  had  said,  but  they  saw  Him 
not." 

Jesus  listened  to  these  words  of  theirs  with 
great  tenderness  and  compassion,  as  we  may 
believe,  yet  surely  wondering  that  it  was  so 
hard  for  His  disciples  to  accept  what  He  had  so 
often  told  them.  He  spoke  gravely  and  re- 
proachfully, "  O  fools  and  slow  of  heart  to  be- 
lieve all  that  the  prophets  have  spoken : 
Ought  not  Christ  to  have  suffered  these  things, 
and  to  enter  into  His  glory  ?  " 

Jesus  had  preached  many  wonderful  sermons 
during  the  years  of  His  ministry  before  He 


248  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

gave  Himself  up  to  die  upon  the  cross,  but  I 
think  no  sermon  of  His  could  ever  have  been  so 
remarkable  in  its  power,  or  so  sublime,  as  this 
which  was  addressed  to  two  disciples  as  they 
walked  on  the  road  from  Jerusalem  to  their 
village  home.  Surely  no  wayfarers  ever  had 
such  company  as  had  these  two  men  with 
whom  the  risen  Son  of  God  walked  as  a  fellow 
pilgrim.  He  began  with  Moses,  and  ex- 
plained to  them  from  the  different  prophets, 
the  things  that  had  been  foretold  about  Him. 

By  and  by  they  drew  near  Emmaus.  The 
first  scattered  houses  were  visible,  people  were 
standing  by  the  doors,  women  were  going  to  the 
well  to  draw  water,  little  household  fires  were 
sending  up  their  curling  smoke.  They  were 
almost  at  home,  and  their  Friend  who  had 
joined  them  made  as  though  He  would  have 
gone  further,  but  the  two  disciples  could  not 
let  Him  go.  They  urged  Him  Avith  loving  con- 
straint, saying,  "  Abide  with  us  :  for  it  is  to- 
wards evening,  and  the  day  is  far  spent." 
Their  very  souls  clung  to  this  Man,  who  was 
still  to  them  a  stranger. 

How  could  they  be  separated  from  this  dear 
companionship  ?  They  wanted  Him  still  with 
them,  and  longed  to  have  Him  tarry  in  their 
house  for  at  least  one  happy  night.  So  He 
went  in  and  tarried  with  them.  We  may  imag- 
ine what  a  welcome  He  received  under  their 


A  Wayside  Walk  249 

roof,  and  how  the  women  of  the  family  has- 
tened to  prepare  the  evening  meal,  and  when  at 
last  it  was  ready,  how  the  three  men  sat  down 
together,  while  perhaps  in  the  background 
women  and  children  looked  on,  and  Jesus  sat  at 
meat  with  His  disciples.  He  had  often  done 
this  before.  He  took  bread,  and  blessed  it, 
and  gave  to  them,  and  in  that  familiar  act, 
He'was  revealed.  Their  eyes  were  opened,  and 
they  knew  Him.  And  then  He  vanished 
out  of  their  sight. 

As  Mary  had  been,  and  as  Thomas,  they 
were  now  convinced.  They  said  one  to 
another,  "  Did  not  our  hearts  burn  within  us 
while  He  talked  with  us  by  the  way,  and  while 
He  opened  to  us  the  Scriptures  ?  " 

Forgetting  that  they  were  tired,  and  that 
the}'^  had  had  a  long  journey,  the)'^  made  haste, 
girded  up  their  loins  the  same  night,  and  walk- 
ing with  quick  step  and  throbbing  pulse,  they 
hurried  back  to  Jerusalem,  and  there  in  an 
upper  room  they  found  the  eleven  apostles  and 
a  few  other  disciples  who  loved  to  be  in  their 
company,  and  bursting  in  upon  them,  they 
said, 

"  The  Lord  is  risen  Indeed." 

While  they  were  speaking,  Jesus  Himself 
suddenly  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  group,  and 
said,  "  Peace  be  unto  you."  Some  of  those  to 
whom  He  now  appeared  were  frightened,  sup- 


250  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

posing  that  they  had  seen  a  spirit.  Not  those 
with  whom  He  had  just  conversed,  remember, 
but  the  others  to  whom  it  was  yet  a  new  thing, 
who  could  not  comprehend  the  great  mystery. 
So  much  passed  the  bounds  of  human  con- 
ception, that  they  did  not  know  how  to  be- 
lieve in  the  Lord's  Resurrection. 

He  said  unto  them,  "  "Why  are  ye  troubled, 
and  why  do  these  thoughts  arise  in  your 
hearts  ?  Behold  My  hands  and  My  feet  that 
it  is  I  Myself  :  handle  Me  and  see,  for  a  spirit 
hath  not  flesh  and  bones  as  ye  see  Me  have." 
When  He  had  thus  spoken,  He  showed  them 
His  hands  and  His  feet.  And  while  they  yet 
believed  not  for  joy,  and  wondered.  He  gave 
them  a  more  and  more  convincing  proof  that 
He  was  indeed  the  same  Jesus  they  had  known 
before.  He  said  again,  "  Have  ye  here  any 
meat?"  And  they  gave  Him  a  piece  of 
broiled  fish,  and  of  a  honeycomb,  and  He 
took  it  and  did  eat  before  them. 

Again  to  these  assembled  disciples,  Jesus 
opened  up  the  Word  of  Life,  telling  them  that 
all  that  had  happened  was  according  as  it  was 
written,  that  Christ  had  to  suffer,  and  to  rise 
from  the  dead  the  third  day.  And  then  with 
a  wonderful  unfolding  of  the  truth  He  said, 
that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should  be 
preached  in  His  Name,  among  all  nations,  be- 
ginning at  Jerusalem.     And  they  listened,  but 


A  Wayside  Walk  251 

did  not  yet  fully  understand.  They  never  did 
wholly  understand,  until  Jesus  was  out  of 
their  sight. 

He  had  to  go  away  and  stay  away,  before 
these  friends  of  His  could  really  keep  with  as- 
surance such  an  Easter  day,  as  you  and  I  keep, 
when  we  rejoice  that  we  have  a  risen  Lord. 

For  to  us,  the  Holy  Ghost  has  come,  as  He 
came  to  them. 


XXXIII 

LOVEST  THOU  ME? 

It  was  not  only  when  the  evening  shadows 
had  gathered  that  Jesus  revealed  Himself  to 
the  bereaved  and  loved  disciples.  At  least 
once  He  came  to  them  in  the  very  earliest  flush 
of  the  dawn. 

When  death  enters  our  earthly  homes,  it 
makes  a  hush  and  an  interruption  for  a  little 
while,  but  before  very  long  we  always  find 
that  we  must  take  up  the  burden  of  life,  and 
go  on  again.  So  it  was  with  these  men  of 
Galilee. 

Jesus  had  called  some  of  His  most  earnest 
disciples  from  the  fishing-boats  on  the  lake, 
and  during  all  the  time  of  His  ministry  they 
pursued  their  calling  when  it  was  needful. 
After  He  was  gone  from  them  they  resumed 
their  old  occupation,  and  it  happened  thus  that 
there  were  together  the  old  comrades,  Simon 
Peter,  Thomas,  Nathanael,  James  and  John 
the  sons  of  Zebedee,  and  one  or  two  others. 
Simon  who  always  was  the  leader,  said  to  his 
friends,  "  It  is  not  worth  while  for  us  to  loiter 
about  doing  nothing,  we  may  as  well  make 
ourselves  busy  again  as  we  used  to.  I  go  a 
252 


Lovest  Thou  Me?  253 

fishing."  The  others  said,  "  We  will  go  with 
thee." 

They  found  a  little  boat,  launched  it  into  the 
deep,  and  toiled  through  the  night,  but  caught 
no  fish.  Yery  early  in  the  morning,  discour- 
aged and  weary,  and  dragging  home  their 
empty  nets,  they  came  towards  the  shore. 
There  a  familiar  figure  stood,  and  yet  their 
eyes  were  holden  and  they  did  not  at  once 
know  that  it  was  the  Master.  Out  over  the 
water  rang  His  cheery  voice,  "  Children,  have 
ye  any  meat  ?  " 

They  answered  sorrowfully,  "  No."  Defeat 
is  always  sorrowful.  Who  can  be  glad  over 
empty  nets  ? 

In  tones  of  quiet  command,  Jesus  said  to 
them  then,  "  Cast  the  net  on  the  right  side  of 
the  ship,  and  ye  shall  find." 

Old  fishermen  though  they  were,  they  did 
not  hesitate  an  instant  to  obey  this  mandate, 
but  at  once  yielded  to  the  stranger's  wish; 
they  cast  the  net,  and  suddenly  it  was  filled 
with  a  multitude  of  fishes,  so  that  it  must  tax 
their  strength  to  draw  in  the  shining  spoil. 

The  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,  seeing  this 
miraculous  draught  of  fishes,  exclaimed  to 
Peter,  "  It  is  the  Lord."  Peter  could  not  wait 
for  the  little  ship  to  get  to  land.  Hurriedly 
he  girt  around  him  his  fisherman's  coat,  for  it 
had  encumbered  him,  and  he  had  thrown  it 


254         That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

off,  and  casting  himself  into  the  sea,  he  rushed 
through  the  waves  to  throw  himself  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus.  The  other  disciples  followed  in 
their  little  boat,  dragging  the  net  with  the  fish. 

And  now  we  come  to  the  most  beautiful  and 
touching  scene  of  all.  As  they  stepped  on  the 
shore,  in  the  cold  gray  morning,  there  was  a 
fire  of  coals  burning  brightly,  and  a  meal  had 
been  prepared,  fish  was  broiling  on  the  coals, 
and  there  was  provision  of  bread.  Who  had 
prepared  this  meal  if  not  our  Lord  Himself, 
in  tender  care  for  the  tired  children  whom  He 
loved  ? 

In  the  olden  days  angels  often  ministered 
to  the  needs  of  Christ's  people,  and,  under 
Christ's  direction,  an  angel  may  have  prepared 
this  breakfast  by  the  Sea  of  Galilee.  Yet  it 
is  sweet  to  think  that  even  as  He  fed  the  five 
thousand,  He  now  deigned  to  feed  the  few 
weary  men  who  had  toiled  all  night.  He  said 
to  them,  "Bring  of  the  fish  ye  have  now 
caught."  They  drew  the  net  to  land,  full  of 
great  fishes,  a  hundred  and  fifty  and  three. 

"Jesus  saith  unto  them,  Come  and  dine. 
And  none  of  His  disciples  durst  ask  Him, 
Who  art  Thou?  knowing  that  it  was  the 
Lord." 

Jesus  then  gave  them  bread  and  fish,  and 
fed  their  hunger.  The  hands  that  brake  this 
bread  were  hands  in  which  were  the  print  of 


Lovest  Thou  Me?  255 

the  nails ;  the  voice  that  blessed  this  food  had 
said,  "  It  is  finished,"  on  the  cross. 

After  this,  and  not  until  the  meal  was  over, 
the  Lord  turned  to  Peter. 

This  was  now  the  third  time  that  Simon 
Peter  and  James  and  John  had  seen  Jesus, 
and  talked  with  Him  after  He  had  risen  from 
the  dead.  Suddenly  Jesus  turned  and  said  to 
Peter,  singling  him  by  name,  "  Simon,  son  of 
Jonas,  lovest  thou  Me  more  than  these  ?  He 
saith  unto  Him,  Yea  Lord:  Thou  knowest 
that  I  love  Thee.  Jesus  saith  unto  him.  Feed 
My  lambs. 

"  He  saith  unto  him  again  the  second  time, 
Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  Lovest  thou  Me  ?  He 
saith  unto  Him,  Tea  Lord :  Thou  knowest 
that  I  love  Thee.  He  saith  unto  him,  Feed 
My  sheep. 

"  Jesus  saith  unto  him  the  third  time,  Simon, 
son  of  Jonas,  Lovest  thou  Me  ?  And  he  said 
unto  Him,  Lord,  Thou  knowest  all  things: 
Thou  knowest  that  I  love  Thee.  Jesus  saith 
unto  him.  Feed  My  sheep." 

A  little  while  ago  Peter  had  denied  his  Lord 
three  times  in  quick  succession,  and  therefore 
three  times  as  if  in  reminder,  Jesus  asked  him 
the  intimate  question,  "  Lovest  thou  Me  ?  " 
and  three  times  He  gave  to  this  disciple  to 
whom  so  much  had  been  forgiven,  the  com- 
mission to  feed  the  flock  that  He  loved. 


256  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

Throughout  the  life  of  Peter,  to  old  age,  he 
indeed  fed  Christ's  sheep,  and  took  care  of 
Christ's  lambs,  until  the  day  when  he,  too, 
was  crucified,  witnessing  with  his  blood  his 
loyalty  to  the  Lord. 

If  you  follow  the  life  of  Peter  as  it  is  shown 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  and  then  if  you 
read  the  beautiful  letters  that  he  wrote  to  the 
churches,  you  will  see  how  strong  and  fine 
and  fearless  was  the  clinging  of  Peter  to  his 
Master.  He  grew  more  spiritual  as  years 
passed.  It  was  Peter  who  said,  "  Though  ye 
be  reproached  for  the  name  of  Christ,  happy 
are  ye."  He  advised  the  disciples  to  whom 
he  preached  to  cast  all  their  care  upon  God, 
who  would  care  for  them,  telling  them  to  be 
sober  and  vigilant,  because  of  their  adversary 
the  devil,  who  as  a  roaring  lion,  walked  about, 
seeking  whom  he  might  devour,  Peter's  epis- 
tles are  practical  hand-books  of  religion  for  the 
twentieth  century. 

The  story  of  Peter  and  of  Christ's  forgiving 
love  is  a  great  encouragement  to  us,  who  are  so 
often  tempted,  and  who  may  in  our  own  way 
deny  our  Lord  in  as  cowardly  a  fashion  as  he 
did  with  far  less  excuse.  If  ever  we  do  this, 
the  way  back  is  the  way  of  penitence  and 
obedience,  to  our  dear  Saviour.  Out  of  shame 
and  grief  into  His  blessed  love. 

Soon  after  this,  our  Lord  left  the  world  and 


Lovest  Thou  Me?  257 

went  back  to  His  Father  in  heaven.  When 
He  was  ready  to  go,  He  led  His  disciples  out 
as  far  as  Bethany,  and  there  He  lifted  up  His 
hands  and  blessed  them,  and  while  He  blessed 
them,  He  was  parted  from  them,  and  carried 
beyond  their  sight. 

To  them  as  to  us  has  been  made  good  the 
promise  He  divinely  spoke, 

"  Peace  I  leave  with  you.  My  peace  I  give 
unto  you.  Not  as  the  world  giveth,  give  I 
unto  you.  Let  not  your  heart  be  troubled, 
neither  let  it  be  afraid." 


XXXIV 
OUR  LORD'S  LAST  WORDS 

Before  our  Lord  finally  left  the  earth  and 
ascended  to  heaven,  He  said  some  last  words 
to  those  He  loved.  They  treasured  up  these 
words  and  passed  them  on.  The  words  were 
a  command.  During  the  earliest  three  cen- 
turies of  the  Christian  era,  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands and  tens  of  thousands  heard  and  obeyed 
this  command,  following  Jesus  to  prison  and 
to  death,  and  preaching  what  He  taught  them 
by  example  and  by  precept.  For  the  last  words 
were  spoken  to  the  eleven  apostles  who  had 
witnessed  His  miracles,  heard  His  sermons, 
been  with  Him  at  the  last  supper,  and  beheld 
Him  again  and  again  after  His  resurrection. 

Obeying  the  command  of  the  Lord  the 
eleven  apostles  went  away  into  Galilee.  There 
they  gathered  in  a  secluded  spot,  a  mountain 
which  Jesus  had  selected  as  the  place  where 
He  would  leave  them  to  begin  their  life  with- 
out His  visible  presence. 

They  were  assembled  in   a  group,  with  a 
sense  of  waiting,  knowing  by  this  time  that 
Jesus  was  coming  to  them  soon. 
258 


Our  Lord's  Last  Words  259 

Presently  He  again  appeared,  and  when  they 
saw  Him,  they  worshipped  Him,  though  there 
were  some  in  whose  hearts  a  little  doubt  yet 
lingered. 

Dear  ones  who  read  this  page,  stop  here,  and 
look  into  your  hearts.  Look  there  before  you 
blame  these  apostles.  Have  you  ever  doubted 
the  power  and  grace  and  love  of  the  Lord 
Jesus?  Is  He  real  to  you  to-day?  Is  your 
faith  so  strong  that  you  believe  every  word 
He  says  ?  Is  your  love  so  true,  that  you  hasten 
to  do  what  He  tells  you  ? 

When  you  love  an  earthly  friend  very  dearly 
you  try  to  be  like  the  friend.  You  think 
about  the  friend,  and  sometimes  you  surprise 
the  friend  by  a  gift,  or  a  visit,  or  a  letter,  or  a 
bit  of  self-denial.  If  you  love  Jesus,  you  may 
do  all  this  for  Him. 

"  II  onr  hearts  were  but  more  simple 
We  should  take  Him  at  His  word. 
And  our  lives  would  be  all  sunshine 
In  the  sweetness  of  our  Lord." 

"When  Jesus  met  the  apostles  He  said  as  He 
approached  them,  I  am  sure  with  a  majesty 
that  was  felt,  the  majesty  of  a  sovereign, 

"  All  power  is  given  unto  Me  in  heaven  and 
on  earth.  Go  ye  therefore  and  teach  all 
nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the 
Father,  and  the   Son,  and  the  Holy   Ghost, 


26o  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatso- 
ever I  have  commanded  you.  And  lo  !  I  am 
with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world." 

Thus  saying,  He  went  up  to  heaven,  and  sat 
down  on  the  right  hand  of  God. 

The  apostles  began  at  Jerusalem,  and,  after 
they  had  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  Jesus 
had  before  this  promised  that  when  He  had 
gone,  the  Comforter  would  come,  they  ex- 
tended their  preaching  beyond  Judea  into  other 
regions.  Paul  who  was  called  by  Jesus  Him- 
seK  from  the  sky,  to  cease  a  career  of  perse- 
cution, and  preach  the  Saviour's  gospel  to  the 
Gentiles,  carried  the  good  news  to  Europe. 
All  the  story  of  the  early  church  as  you  read 
it  in  the  book  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  is  a 
story  of  heroic  preaching  and  suffering  for  the 
sake  of  a  risen  Redeemer. 

The  apostles  were  all  missionaries.  Every 
Christian  since  Christ  left  the  world  is  a  mis- 
sionary, or  else  he  is  not  a  Christian.  Mission- 
ary means  one  sent.  Each  of  us  who  loves 
Jesus  Christ,  is  sent  to  proclaim  His  truth  to 
men.  "We  may  do  this  in  our  own  homes,  in 
crowded  streets  of  great  cities,  in  lonely  vil- 
lages, in  ships  on  the  sea,  in  islands  of  the 
ocean,  in  lands  afar,  to  people  of  every  race, 
colour,  and  condition.  "When  we  cannot  in 
person  go  away  as  missionaries,  we  can  give 


Our  Lord's  Last  Words  261 

our  money  and  our  prayers  to  spread  the 
gospel. 

"  The  Son  of  God  goes  forth  to  war, 
A  kingly  crown  to  gain  ; 
His  blood-red  banner  streams  afar  ; 
Who  follows  in  His  train  ? 

"  Who  best  can  drink  His  cnp  of  woe, 
Triumphant  over  pain, 
Who  patient  bears  His  cross  below, 
He  follows  in  His  train." 

You  who  are  in  school  and  college  now,  may 
live  to  see  the  day  when  idol  worship  shall 
end,  and  the  whole  round  world  be  girdled  by 
prayer  and  praise  evening  and  morning  to 
Jesus  Christ.  The  tapers  that  twinkle  on  the 
Christmas  tree,  are  lighted  to-day  in  Africa,  in 
Asia,  in  Europe,  in  America.  The  Christmas 
music  ripples  in  the  tide  of  melody  on  every 
shore  in  the  globe.  The  sweet  story  of  old  is 
translated  into  all  known  tongues  and  dialects, 
and  children  of  every  race  may  hear  it  at 
their  mother's  knee. 

The  young  men  and  women  of  far  Eastern 
lands  are  taking  up  the  cross  of  Jesus,  and 
bearing  it  after  Him  in  reverence  and  love. 
Student  volunteers  are  eager  to  go  forth  and 
win  the  whole  earth  for  the  Master. 

"What  share  is  to  be  yours  in  this  magnificent 
campaign  ?    Are  you  giving  Jesus  Christ  your 


262  That  Sweet  Story  of  Old 

best,  in  the  happy  day  of  youth  and  strength  ? 
Then  indeed  your  life  will  be  full  and  blessed, 
and  you  will  know  what  it  means  to  have 
Jesus  always  with  you. 

There  are  some  who  have  not  yet  discovered 
what  it  is  to  have  Jesus  for  their  Master  and 
Friend.  So  His  last  words  mean  nothing  to 
them.  They  are  outside  the  circle  in  the 
upper  room,  out  in  the  cold  and  the  storm. 

Yet  to  them  He  says,  most  gently,  "  Be- 
hold I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock.  I  am  He 
that  liveth,  and  was  dead,  and  behold,  I  am 
alive  for  evermore."  Ah  1  why  not  open  the 
heart's  door  and  let  Jesus  in. 

Over  and  over  let  us  repeat  those  last  words 
of  Jesus,  "  Go  into  all  the  world  and  preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature." 

"Oh,  Master  when  Thou  callest 
No  voice  may  say  Thee  nay. 
For  blest  are  those  that  follow 
Where  Thou  dost  lead  the  way. 

"  They  who  go  forth  to  serve  Thee, 
We  too,  who  serve  at  home, 
May  watch  and  pray  together 
Until  Thy  Kingdom  come. 

"  In  Thee  for  aye  united 

Our  song  of  hope  we  raise. 
Till  that  blest  shore  is  sighted 
Where  all  shall  turn  to  praise." 

THE  END 


